Thrushpaw's Destiny
by Leafkit1
Summary: After Thrushpaw is banished from RiverClan for unknown reasons, he finds a new home in ThunderClan. The problem is that Thrushpaw has a destiny to fulfill, he just doesn't know it yet. He can't do it, though, without the love and respect from all the cats around him. Because it's Thrushpaw's Destiny, he just doesn't know that his life will change the forest. R&R!
1. Allegiances & Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the warriors or anything related to them.**

**READ-Okay, guys. Now, I have an ending for this story, but once you finish reading up to what I've completed, I want you to all come back and tell me what you think, because frankly, I wanna know if my ending is as predictable as you guys think it is because I'm not sure. Just comment what you think it's going to be and along with commenting, it would be awesome if you could also tell me what you think of my story! I want to keep it so that you guys like it and keep on reading it! I also have a sequel planned out for the story too!**

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_Allegiances_

**THUNDERCLAN**

**Leader:** Brightstar - bright white she-cat with amber eyes

**Deputy:** Cherrystem - brown tabby she-cat with a redish tail

**Medicine Cat:** Berrywhisker - cream-colored tom

**Warriors:** Sparrowfoot - large dark brown tabby tom

Eaglewing - gray-and-black tabby tom

Whiteheart - beautiful white she-cat with yellow eyes

Tumblefur - ginger tom with green eyes  
Apprentice; Sagepaw

Spottedpath - speckled gray-and-white she-cat  
Apprentice; Silverpaw

Mudpelt - small light brown tom

Foxfire - reddish-brown tabby tom

Ravenflight - black she-cat with brown paws  
Apprentice; Ashpaw

Raincloud - fluffy gray she-cat

Petalfall - golden-and-white she-cat

**Apprentices: **Sagepaw - black-and-white she-cat

Silverpaw - light gray she-cat

Ashpaw - pale gray tabby tom

**Queens:** Briarcloud - brown she-cat with beautiful blue eyes, mother of Tumblefur's kits: Leafkit (brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes) and Snowkit (beautiful white she-cat with green eyes)**  
**

Poppyfeather - light brown she-cat, expecting Foxfire's kits

**Elders:** Gorsepelt - dark gray tom

Whiskerface - black-and-white tom, formerly of WindClan

**RIVERCLAN**

**Leader:** Coldstar - big white tom

**Deputy:** Sandyfur - ginger she-cat

**Medicine Cat:** Mistpelt - beautiful gray she-cat  
Apprentice; Volepaw (dark brown tabby tom)

**Warriors: **Dewsong - light gray she-cat with amber eyes  
Apprentice; Thrushpaw (ginger-and-gray tabby tom with blue eyes)

Longwhisker - dark brown tabby tom

Iceberry - prickly white she-cat  
Apprentice; Blossompaw (patchy white she-cat)

Littlelegs - big white tom with small legs

Honeydapple - ginger she-cat with green eyes

Splashfall - light gray tabby tom

Stonepath - dark gray tom with amber eyes

**Queens: **Goldeneyes - golden-colored she-cat, mother of Longwhisker's kits: Owlkit (dark brown tabby tom) and Whistlekit (dark gray tom)

**Elders:** Cinderfoot - dark gray she-cat

Pounceheart - black-and-white tom

**SHADOWCLAN**

**Leader:** Crowstar - jet black tom

**Deputy:** Darknose - dark brown tabby tom

**Medicine Cat:** Talonheart - brown tom with amber eyes

**Warriors:** Shadeflight - dark gray she-cat

Ratears - ginger-and-gray tabby tom  
Apprentice; Leopardpaw (beautiful golden she-cat)

Dawnlight - tortoiseshell she-cat  
Apprentice; Tigerpaw (brown-and-black striped tom)

Cloverpatch - minty-white she-cat

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Flightstar - very old brown tom

**Deputy:** Nightwing - black she-cat with amber eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Fernpelt - pale gray she-cat with amber eyes  
Apprentice; Rosepaw (creamy she-cat)

**Warriors:** Willowtail - dark gray tabby she-cat

Swallowheart - gray she-cat with yellow eyes

Beenose - black-and-gray striped tom

Stormcloud - big white tom with a gray tail and paws  
Apprentice; Rabbitpaw (white tom)

Rockpelt - big black tabby tom

**Queens: **Ivyfur - light gray she-cat, mother of Beeshadow's kits: Mousekit (dark gray tom), Graykit (light gray tabby tom), and Dapplekit (black-and-gray tabby she-cat)

**Elders:** Starlingwing - gray tabby tom

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Prologue

The stars glittered high above the sky as the warriors greeted each other in the darkness. The first one had a dark gray pelt that blended in with the moonlight, the second one had a white pelt that glimmered in the moonlight, and the third one was a small with a silver coat. Her eyes stared up at the sky as lightning flashed above. It wasn't the lightning of any of the Clans and the silver cat shook her head despairingly.

"It's coming," the silver cat mewed, turning to the other two.

"What are you talking about Silverstar?" the dark gray cat flicked his head back and forth, not willing to listen to the silver she-cat's nonsense.

"Not all prophecies come from StarClan, Graystar," Silverstar meowed back. They turned to face the white she-cat. "We have all led RiverClan before. Never before have we seen something like this, have we?"

"No, Silverstar," the white she-cat meowed, "but we must warn Coldstar."

Silverstar whipped her head around. "Whitestar," she snarled. "We have had this prophecy for moons now and it hasn't happened yet. He's just a _kit._ Who knows if he's the one? We say that about all of them. We can't tell Coldstar... yet."

"But he has the looks in his eyes," Whitestar observed.

"You can't just judge by looks Whitestar," Silverstar grumbled. "Use your brain."

The next moment, a golden she-cat appeared out of the night. Her amber eyes seared through the other three she-cats and she dipped her head to them. "Greetings."

"Greetings, Goldenstar," the three cats mewed simultaneously.

"Do you think he is the one?" Goldenstar asked.

"I suspect," Silverstar sighed, "but it just doesn't feel right."

"I have been watching him," Goldenstar meowed. "He doesn't belong in RiverClan. He never will. You must tell Coldstar. His future lies elsewhere."

Whitestar gave Silverstar a knowing look and the silver she-cat turned away. Graystar stepped forward, his eyes bowed. "Goldenstar, are you sure you have the right cat?"

"Have I ever spoken about this situation before?" the golden she-cat asked.

Graystar didn't need to respond. Instead, he dipped his head. "Shall I give Coldstar the prophecy?"

"No," Goldenstar mewed, "but tell him that kit no longer belongs in that Clan. He'll destroy RiverClan if he doesn't leave."

"In those exact words?"

"No, Graystar, use your brain." Goldenstar swished her tail. "StarClan don't speak in words, we speak in messages. Now go."

"Very well, Goldenstar." Graystar dipped his head and padded away. Silverstar and Whitestar stared after him.

"His kin will rule the forest," Whitestar observed.

Goldenstar nodded and then slowly repeated the prophecy in a monotonous, echoing voice: "_Not of RiverClan are the three kin who will rule StarClan, and find the forest beneath its roots."_


	2. Chapter 1

**Note: the cats live in their forest territory. The lake home never existed.**

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Chapter 1

The morning sunlight washed over the apprentice's den and Thrushpaw let out an indignant groan. He peaked his head out of the entrance and saw that half of the cats were already up and about. When he didn't spot Coldstar, he breathed a sigh of relief and sunk back into his nest and squeezed his eyes shut. Since Stonepath had become a warrior, it seemed like he was always in the elder's den or he was always out hunting or he was always on patrol. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a good night's sleep without being woken up before dawn by some cat or another.

But a moment later he heard Dewsong's voice as she poked her head into the den, "Get up sleepy!" she growled. Thrushpaw turned himself away from the sunlight, but even as he did so, he could hear a purr rumbling in Dewsong's voice. "All you ever do is sleep." Thrushpaw didn't bother opening his eyes to respond and the next moment she was out of the den and gone.

Thrushpaw blinked open his eyes and looked over at Blossompaw's nest, the one other nest in the apprentice's den. It felt cold when Thrushpaw touched it and he assumed that she'd gone out early for dawn patrol. Thrushpaw sighed, pulling himself up. He didn't have any friends in RiverClan. Most of the cats seemed to ignore him. As a kit, he'd spent most his time crouching in fear against the wall of the nursery when the other kits would go out and play. And when he tried to speak to other cats, he only seemed to mix his words up. They'd stare at him for a moment before walking off, shaking their heads. Since his days as a kit, things had only gotten worse. Now, he could form a conversation, but he much preferred to spend time alone. He felt as though most of the cats in the clan sneered at him anyway, so Thrushpaw much preferred to keep his distance.

As Thrushpaw trotted out of the apprentice's den and opened his wide to the sunlight, he looked over to where Dewsong and Longwhisker, the two senior warriors, were sharing a piece of fresh kill. He was about to take a piece of fresh kill himself, but looked up to see himself looking straight into a pair of amber eyes. A shiver ran down his spine until Thrushpaw realized that it was only Coldstar. Thrushpaw couldn't seem to go a day without being watched by Coldstar. It was as though the leader made ten times as much effort to watch him than he did to watch any other cat. He sent Thrushpaw out on more patrols, snapped at him more easily, got mad at him whenever he messed up, and then praised him for simple things. It was as though he didn't trust Thrushpaw at all. Even though he was an awkward kit, that didn't make him an awkward _apprentice._

Thrushpaw found it easy to deliberately avoid the leader and then bent down to take a fish from the fresh kill pile when all of a sudden Blossompaw and her mentor Iceberry came trotting through the entrance to the camp. Thrushpaw watched them as Blossompaw approached. She was the only cat who seemed to make any effort to speak with Thrushpaw.

"Hello Thrushpaw," she mewed pleasantly.

"Hi Blossompaw," Thrushpaw meowed quietly. Whenever he spoke to other cats, he had a tendency to speak in a super quiet voice, as though speaking any louder would trip him up.

"What's wrong?" Blossompaw inquired.

Thrushpaw didn't have to answer for Blossompaw to figure it out. Thrushpaw had never told her, but every cat could guess if something was bothering Thrushpaw and what it was. Blossompaw situated herself next to Thrushpaw, and he backed away, giving her a chance to take a bite out of the fish he was eating.

"That cat spends too much time treading on your paws," Blossompaw mewed between each bite. "You're never going to learn anything if you feel like you can't do anything right."

Thrushpaw couldn't keep himself from laughing. Blossompaw could say anything whenever she wanted without worrying about other cats would say. For that matter, she never seemed to care about what other cats had to say.

"I'd like to see what Coldstar would say if he heard you saying that," Thrushpaw pointed out.

Blossompaw shrugged. "He'd get over it."

Another reason Thrushpaw suspected that Blossompaw could act so calmly when it came to Coldstar was that she was his son. Although the two hadn't been close growing up, Coldstar had to let Blossompaw off the hook for some things and it was easier for him to accept when she was speaking illy of him, versus when another cat would.

Once the two cats had finished the fresh kill, Blossompaw stood up. "Iceberry told me I have to go tend to the elders." She made a face and then scurried away before Thrushpaw could reply. He sighed and looked around. He knew that Dewsong wanted him and the next moment she approached.

"Thrushpaw, we're going hunting," she meowed. "And Coldstar is coming with us."

Thrushpaw wouldn't hide his anger from his mentor. Not only did Coldstar watch Thrushpaw, but he came with him everywhere. He'd turned the elders, Cinderfoot and Pounceheart, complaining about how Coldstar would just sit around and do nothing, but now he watched Thrushpaw like he was his own kit. Thrushpaw doubted that this was true. Coldstar watched Thrushpaw like he had murdered another cat.

"And you're going to be nice about it," Dewsong added through gritted teeth as Coldstar approached them, not taking his gaze off of Thrushpaw once.

"Whatever," growled Thrushpaw and stood up as Coldstar approached. "Hello, Coldstar." Thrushpaw greeted his leader with the dip of his head and Coldstar replied with a curt nod.

"Let's get going then," meowed Coldstar. "The fish won't hang around all day."

_Actually, they kind of do,_ Thrushpaw thought, but bit back the retort. As the three cats headed out into the forest, Thrushpaw could feel Coldstar's eyes burning into his pelt. Thrushpaw deliberately looked away, not catching his leader's eyes once.

As they approached the river, Thrushpaw looked across the stepping stones that led into ThunderClan territory. The river had almost drained completely due to the drought that greenleaf had brought them. Most of the prey they caught came from farther upstream near WindClan territory where the water source hadn't been cut off.

Thrushpaw stared out over onto ThunderClan territory and wafted in their scent. It smelled like they hadn't been there for a while either. He then turned to face the small river, knowing that with it draining quickly, the clan would be starving by leaf-bare if it didn't rain soon.

"Why are you standing there when you could be catching prey?" Coldstar's snarl broke into his thoughts that Thrushpaw shook, scared. He couldn't let his leader doubt him.

"I'm sorry, Coldstar," Thrushpaw mewed.

"Don't say _sorry,_" Coldstar growled. "Go hunt."

Thrushpaw was about to head down for the river when he spotted a water vole leaping out of the grass near the edge of the riverbank. Thrushpaw lunged for it aimlessly, missing by a mile. He fell flat on his stomach, and he knew that he looked like a kit from his appearance.

"What was that?"

Thrushpaw quickly hurried to his paws, but saw his leader flashing him a menacing glare. "I'm not going to keep telling you that you need to be more careful. I'm surprised you weren't kitted into ThunderClan."

The leader then headed down towards the river and Thrushpaw, tail drooping, stared after his leader as he swiftly caught a fish. It was a small fish, and knew that many apprentices longed to catch something bigger than it, but Thrushpaw wished he could catch just that. But then, he knew that Coldstar would always put him down no matter what he did. Maybe, just maybe, Coldstar was right. Maybe he should've been born into ThunderClan after all.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Gonna keep updating, but I want you guys to review, good or bad, so that I know what I'm doing wrong! I'm not the best writer, but I like doing it anyway, so review (good or bad, just not so awfully bad that I never wanna write again) are good! Xoxo, Leaf**

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Chapter 2

Three dawns after the incident with Coldstar, things hadn't gotten any better, and Thrushpaw seemed to want to take as much time as possible to himself. He hadn't spoken to his leader since the incident down by the river, and he'd been keener than ever to try to make things right with his leader. The day before, he'd spent almost his entire day in the elder's den dealing with their ticks. Listening to Cinderfoot and Pounceheart complain and argue with each other hadn't been pleasant, but he'd still taken the extra time to make sure that he'd done things right. He hadn't even complained when they had ungraciously told him that he was the worst apprentice they'd ever had spend the day with.

Stepping out into the sunlight, he saw Blossompaw sitting by herself munching on a water vole - which made Thrushpaw think of the incident a few days back - and went to join her. She waved him down to sit next to her and he took a seat.

"Want some?" she offered.

Thrushpaw shook his head. He'd also been making the effort to take as little fresh kill from the fresh kill pile.

"If you say so," she mewed. She then stood up. "I have the rest of the day to myself. Iceberry said I did well on my assessment today."

Thrushpaw's ears pricked on the word assessment, and Blossompaw let out a purr sensing his panic.

"I'm not becoming a warrior. Iceberry just wanted to assess my battle moves. She knows that I've been having trouble with some of them and decided that if she assessed me it would be easier to tell how my skills were really progressing."

"And?" Thrushpaw asked.

"She said they're great, but some of them need work. She wants me to be well rested for tomorrow since we're working on them, but I'm going to be well rested!" she leaped up. "I'm _always_ well rested for that matter. Do you want to go hunting?"

Thrushpaw sensed the apprentice's excitement, and knew that he, himself, was barely ever able to keep up. Before he could say that he wasn't sure if he wanted to or not, Blossompaw had answered for him.

"Let's go!" She swallowed the last of the water vole and then hurried towards the entrance to camp.

Thrushpaw, knowing that Blossompaw really was the only friend he had in the clan, decided it would be best not to put her down, and bounded after.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked.

Thrushpaw knew it was easier to hunt downstream near the ThunderClan border since the water moved slower and it was easier to spot fish, but it was so shallow. Upstream there'd be more fish, but it was harder to spot them, so he shrugged. Blossompaw, though, knew he'd rather hunt near ThunderClan. They'd gone hunting before and Thrushpaw always seemed more comfortable near the ThunderClan border.

"How about downstream?" she suggested. "I have a feeling it'll be easier to catch prey there."

Thrushpaw breathed a sigh of relief. She always put him before herself if she knew it would make him feel better. "Okay," he agreed, trying not to make it too obvious that she'd said exactly what he'd hoped she would.

As they headed towards the ThunderClan border, the two cats padded in silence. It just felt good knowing that Coldstar wasn't treading on his paws the entire time.

"Wow, the river is getting even lower," Blossompaw mewed, breaking Thrushpaw from his thoughts.

"I-I know," Thrushpaw meowed, looking at the shallow river. "What do you think is going to happen if it doesn't rain soon?"

"It'll rain," Blossompaw insisted. "StarClan wouldn't punish us for so long we'd starve. They didn't put us here to kill us off in a drought."

Thrushpaw nodded, agreeing. The next moment, he spotted a squirrel on their territory. It was the heftiest squirrel he'd ever seen. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd even seen a squirrel in RiverClan territory. He saw it heading towards the river and Thrushpaw, instinctively, bounded after it.

"Thrushpaw!"

Thrushpaw ignored Blossompaw and rambled after it, tripping over his paws slightly, but then, as if by lightning pounced down on it. For a moment, Thrushpaw thought he'd missed it, but then realized he had it beneath his paws. The smell of the newly caught fresh kill wafted up to his nose and he breathed it in. He stood up and once again heard his name:

"Thrushpaw!"

Thrushpaw spun around and held his breath, realizing that Blossompaw was on the other side of the very shallow river. How had he gotten all the way to ThunderClan territory? He grasped the squirrel in his jaws and was about to run back across to his territory, when he heard the snarl of a ThunderClan warrior in his ear:

"What are you doing here?"

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**Basically, that cliffhanger sounded a lot better in my head than it does when I typed it. I also kind of wish that the chapter was longer, but oh well! Hope you guys liked it! I'll try to update later tonight or tomorrow!**

**-Leaf**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Thrushpaw felt the warrior breathing down his pelt. He twitched his tail and saw Blossompaw on the other side of the river uncertain as to if she should dare to cross to help her friend.

"What are you doing here?" repeated the ThunderClan warrior, snarling. His brown pelt was bristling and Thrushpaw couldn't help but think that the warrior wasn't going to let him go easily.

"I-I'm sorry," Thrushpaw mewed, realizing that he must've sounded like a kit, barely apprenticed. But Thrushpaw didn't care. That was how he felt. He hadn't been to the last Gathering; therefore, he didn't know any of the cats. He wished Coldstar had taken him, especially now, when he had no idea who he was looking up at.

"Mudpelt," muttered a white she-cat, looking down at Thrushpaw gently. "He's only an apprentice. It must've been a mistake. Besides, that was a fine catch."

"Yes," snarled Mudpelt. "And if you haven't realized, this 'nice' catch could've been ThunderClan's."

The white she-cat twitched her tail and Thrushpaw saw two other cats from behind him. One was a speckled gray-and-white she-cat and the other was a light gray apprentice. The speckled cat stepped forward, shoving Mudpelt off of Thrushpaw.

"I'm going to have to report this to Brightstar," she mewed.

Thrushpaw shivered, half expecting to have to be brought back to the ThunderClan camp. He couldn't imagine having to face the ThunderClan leader. He also couldn't imagine what Coldstar would say when he found out about him being on another clan's territory. He was almost certain that Coldstar wouldn't make him a warrior.

"Don't take him with you!"

Thrushpaw turned to see Blossompaw leaping across the shallow river towards them.

"Blossompaw!"

Thrushpaw saw the light gray apprentice bound forward, but the speckled cat held her back. "Silverpaw!" she scolded. "You know about not making friends with cats from other clans."

"It was just a _greeting_," she argued, but from the speckled cat's look, Silverpaw knew to keep quiet.

"I'll escort you back to camp," snarled Mudpelt. He swung around to face the other cats. "Whiteheart," he mewed to the white she cat, "go back to camp and tell Brightstar about our intruder. Spottedpath, you and Silverpaw finish the patrol." He then looked at the piece of fresh kill. "Take this back to camp with you." When he spoke, his words were more gentle, as though he was trying to determine Thrushpaw's abilities to hunt as a ThunderClan cat instead of a RiverClan cat.

"Yes, Mudpelt," Whiteheart mewed and gently scooped up the squirrel, heading away.

Spottedpath then flicked her tail towards Silverpaw and the two cats continued the patrol. Mudpelt then turned towards Thrushpaw and Blossompaw, growling.

"We're sorry, Mudpelt," Blossompaw mewed, shaking.

"'Sorry' doesn't do anything," Mudpelt growled. "You took a valuable piece of fresh-kill from us."

"But you just took it back with you to camp!" Thrushpaw objected, regretting the words as soon as he'd spoken them.

Mudpelt let out a hiss before guiding the two apprentices back towards their camp. Not knowing the way, Blossompaw led it while Thrushpaw walked with his head down. He could only begin to imagine Coldstar's expression when he saw them. He could already imagine the hatred mixed in with fury and punishment. Thrushpaw couldn't believe that he'd messed up again. This was the biggest mistake he'd made so far and he knew that Coldstar's trust level was low. Before this, he'd had doubts that it could get any lower.

"ThunderClan!"

Thrushpaw looked up to see Littlelegs padding forward followed by Splashfall. The two cats hissed at Mudpelt and Mudpelt shot them both a look. "This cat was caught stealing prey on our territory." He motioned to Thrushpaw. "I've come to speak with your leader about it."

"I'll lead you to him," Littlelegs offered.

"I don't need to be in his filthy den," Mudpelt growled, each word dropping like a stone. Thrushpaw shivered. Mudpelt wasn't the ThunderClan leader or deputy, but he spoke like he had authority over all the cats in the clan.

"In that case, I'll go get him," Littlelegs repeated, hobbling towards Coldstar's den, his short legs throwing him off.

Blossompaw, hoping that this was her signal to leave, slowly headed towards the apprentice's den, but Mudpelt hissed at her. "Get back here."

"You aren't my mentor," Blossompaw spat back.

Iceberry was already out of the warrior's den and turned to Blossompaw. "I think it's best if you stayed, Blossompaw."

Blossompaw dipped her head to her leader and sat steadfast, deliberately looking away from Mudpelt. Thrushpaw also noted that she was deliberately looking away from him. By now, most of the clan had gathered and Goldeneyes was busy trying to keep her two kits under control.

"What's going on?" Whistlekit demanded, bouncing up and down.

"_That's_ not a ThunderClan warrior!" Whistlekit's brother, Owlkit, agreed.

"Hush!" Their mother silenced them, drawing her tail over their mouths.

The next moment, Coldstar appeared from his den, and approached Mudpelt, dipping his head. "Mudpelt."

"Coldstar."

"What is it that you'd like to speak to me about?" Coldstar demanded, keeping his voice at a steady pace.

"These two apprentices." He flicked his tail towards Thrushpaw and Blossompaw.

"What have they done?" Coldstar spoke with an even done, not glancing at Thrushpaw like he'd expected. Thrushpaw was used to his mentor's menacing glare but received nothing of the sort.

Thrushpaw was too preoccupied in his own thoughts, that he hadn't realized that the conversation was wrapping up by the time it was over. He looked up and pretended to have been listening through the entire thing.

"Thank you, Mudpelt," Coldstar mewed evenly. "I'll speak with them both and make sure they receive fair punishments."

"You better," snarled Mudpelt before turning to leave.

"I think it's best if some cats took you," Coldstar replied. "Longwhisker and Honeydapple will be happy to accompany you."

Thrushpaw waited for Mudpelt to reply, but he didn't and Longwhisker and Honeydapple obediently followed Mudpelt out of the camp.

"Blossompaw," Coldstar meowed. "As this was not your doing, I'd like you to go to the elder's den and deal with their bedding for the rest of the day. You may resume training tomorrow."

Thrushpaw sensed Blossompaw's antagonism towards her father, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she lashed her tail along the ground and unhappily headed towards the elder's den. Once the clan had begun to disperse, Coldstar whirled on Thrushpaw, his amber eyes burning into Thrushpaw's.

"What have you done?" he growled.

"Nothing, Coldstar," Thrushpaw croaked meekly. He had known something like this was coming.

"Come with me to my den," the leader growled.

Thrushpaw didn't have time to object and instead, numbly followed his leader towards his den. This wasn't the first time he'd been inside of there, but thinking about it, Thrushpaw realized the only times he'd ever been in his leader's den were for punishment.

"What did you do?" growled Coldstar.

"I made a mistake," Thrushpaw mewed, crumbling under the pressure. "I promise it won't happen again."

"You know it won't," Coldstar snarled. Before Thrushpaw could reply, he carried on. "Because from now on, RiverClan doesn't need a warrior like you."

"What are you talking about?" Thrushpaw croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You are no longer a member of RiverClan. I never want to see you on this territory again. From now on, you are our enemy. All you're going to bring this clan is destruction and terror. Your future lies elsewhere."

Then, without waiting to see what Thrushpaw could say, Coldstar deliberately walked over to his nest and turned away. Thrushpaw felt as though he was crumbling, but he couldn't bear to think about it. He whipped around from his leader, realizing he was banished. In a way, it was a relief to know that he could no longer have to deal with the RiverClan leader, but Thrushpaw also knew that it came with a price. He was lost. He was hopeless.

Eyes shadowed, Thrushpaw headed out of his leader's den to see Blossompaw carrying moss between her teeth as she crossed the clearing. She bounded over to him and dropped the moss.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm no longer part of this clan."

Thrushpaw looked down and then up.

"What're you talking about?" Blossompaw asked.

Thrushpaw looked away. "Coldstar banished me from RiverClan."

Blossompaw's eyes immediately filled with rage. "No!" she wailed. "No! Thrushpaw, you can't leave." She buried her nose into his pelt. "What am I going to do without you?"

Thrushpaw couldn't bear to look at her and instead looked away. "I'm not part of RiverClan," he meowed. "I was never meant to be."

He then turned to leave the clan. His vision blurred and he didn't bother turning around, but he could hear Blossompaw's wails.

"Thrushpaw! I can talk to him! You can stay! Don't go!"

But Thrushpaw didn't need to hear it. He couldn't cling onto this part of his life anymore. He had never been a true RiverClan cat. And now, it was time for him to go and find his life's path elsewhere, no matter what else he had to leave behind.

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**DUN DUN DUN. Okay, so a POV with Leafkit from ThunderClan is coming up so get excited! Sorry if the book is boring you. I promise, it gets better. Or, at least, in my opinion, I think it gets better. I'll post tomorrow (hopefully) so keep reading then to find out!**

**-Leaf**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As soon as Thrushpaw was out of the camp, his paws began to guide him and before Thrushpaw knew it, he was at the edge of ThunderClan territory. Thrushpaw sighed, shaking his head. Why was he here again? It seemed as though he always ended up at the wrong places at the wrong time. He knew that Twolegplace was on the other side of ThunderClan territory and Thrushpaw hesitated, knowing that maybe he could find a home there if he went. Thrushpaw shuddered, thinking of himself living as a kittypet. Even though he'd never been a true RiverClan warrior, he knew that he could never be tempted by the life of a kittypet either. The thought of Twolegs coddling him day in and day out just didn't appeal to him.

Thrushpaw then sighed. Right now, it was his only option. He hesitated before leaping across the shallow river. He began to walk along the border keeping as close to the edge of the forest as he could. He kept his ears pricked, waiting for a patrol to come along. He was almost certain that no cat wasn't going to come when all of a sudden he felt himself pinned to the ground. Thrushpaw spun around the cat's grasp, shaking.

"Let go of me!" Thrushpaw hissed.

Thrushpaw then recognized the young light gray she-cat that he'd seen on the patrol earlier. Thrushpaw struggled out from under her grasp, terrified.

"Oh. It's you," she mewed, her voice quiet. "Silverpaw," she meowed, introducing herself. "I'm not sure if you caught on to that earlier."

Her mew was terse, yet mild. There was no hostility in it like Thrushpaw had expected.

"I really should get out of here," Thrushpaw meowed quickly, not wanting to share with this young she-cat that he'd been banished.

"Yeah, you should," Silverpaw agreed. "What're you doing here anyway?"

"It was a mistake." Thrushpaw hesitated.

"If you're traveling to Highstones, you should know that you're nowhere near it," Silverpaw pointed out.

Before Thrushpaw could reply, he heard a voice and Silverpaw shoved him into the brambles. Thrushpaw squealed as the brambles tore out his fur and he had to dig his claws into the ground to keep from screaming.

"Silverpaw! Who's that you're talking to?"

"N-no one, Spottedpath!" Silverpaw replied.

Thrushpaw peaked out of the brambles to see Spottedpath, the other cat from earlier. Spottedpath sighed and then sniffed the air. "What's that I smell?" she demanded.

"I don't know." Silverpaw sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything."

"ThunderClan." Thrushpaw saw Spottedpath's claws unsheathe and he held in his breath, praying that she wouldn't come any closer. "And the scent is fresh?"

Silverpaw sniffed again. "Spottedpath, are you sure? I don't smell anything. You must be dreaming."

"For StarClan's sake, Silverpaw! What has gotten into you?" Her mentor turned to look at her. "Your scent of smell is so sharp and keen, I can't believe you're telling me the truth. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"I feel fine!" Silverpaw replied.

Thrushpaw could sense her nervousness. Her tail was twitching nervously and she then began to head the other way.

"I made this great catch earlier! Let me show you! It's buried right back here." Silverpaw was clearly trying to steer Spottedpath in the other direction.

Spottedpath ignored Silverpaw and Thrushpaw saw her heading towards the bush. Not wanting to be attacked, Thrushpaw pushed his way out of the brambles. Spottedpath lunged for him, but Thrushpaw ducked out of the way quickly.

"What are you doing here?" she snarled.

Thrushpaw waited for Silverpaw to defend him, but she didn't say anything.

"That's twice today." Thrushpaw sensed Spottedpath's nervousness. "This time I'm bringing you to Brightstar."

Thrushpaw would've been more nervous except for the fact that he had nothing to be nervous _about._ What punishment could he really receive now?

"Yes, Spottedpath," Thrushpaw mumbled, recalling the she-cat's name from earlier.

He saw Silverpaw slowly walk ahead of them as they headed towards their camp. Although Thrushpaw felt distraught at the thought of facing the ThunderClan leader he couldn't help but realize how at home he felt in ThunderClan. As he saw a mouse rush across the forest floor he could almost imagine himself pouncing on it and making a fine catch. He could imagine his mentor's praise when he caught it and the way he'd feel when he brought the mouse to the elder's den without being told.

As they headed into the camp, Thrushpaw realized how small their clan seemed. He knew that ThunderClan was small, having decreased in size due to the hard leaf-bare they'd endured. All of the clans had lost cats, but he couldn't believe ThunderClan was as small as it was. He assumed that maybe the cats were all out on patrol, even though he knew this wasn't true. Their clan just wasn't thriving at the moment.

"Stay with Thrushpaw," Spottedpath hissed at her apprentice and bounded towards the leader's den.

"Don't thank me for trying to save your pelt," Silverpaw growled, the pleasantry in her voice lost from before. "I didn't ask for this either."

Thrushpaw didn't reply and the next moment, he saw the ThunderClan leader appear from her den. He'd never seen her before and Thrushpaw was taken aback by her size. She was large and loomed over him as he approached. Thrushpaw crouched down, but instead of seeing anger in her eyes like he'd expected, he saw curiosity.

"What're you doing here?" she demanded. "That's twice today, isn't it?"

Thrushpaw didn't reply.

"When a leader speaks, you respond." Brightstar's voice was curt, but it wasn't as though she was pressuring him into saying more. "Thrushpaw, right?"

When Thrushpaw didn't reply, he began to note the swarm of cats coming into view. Their clan still appeared small but with almost everyone's eyes on him, Thrushpaw felt uncomfortable.

"Come with me," Brightstar mewed calmly. She flicked her tail and, not knowing what to do, Thrushpaw followed, feeling small and meek. He knew the rest of the clan was watching and Brightstar spun around. "And the rest of you, stop staring. Try to make yourself productive."

"Yes, Brightstar," many of the cats mewed and then turned away to go and do their own things, but Thrushpaw could still feel them lingering, waiting to find out what was going to happen to him.

As he padded into the leader's den, Brightstar set herself down and stared straight at him. Thrushpaw tried to get himself to look away, but he couldn't keep from staring.

"Okay, Thrushpaw," she meowed. "What're you doing on our territory? Twice today?"

"The first time it was a mistake," Thrushpaw blurted. "The second time was because I was leaving."

"Leaving...?" Brightstar gave Thrushpaw a bemused glance.

"Coldstar banished me from RiverClan." Thrushpaw had no shame in admitting it. There was nothing and no one to hide from anymore. It didn't matter what he said.

"You were leaving the forest?" Brightstar interrogated.

Thrushpaw nodded, looking down. "I'm sorry, Brightstar, I shouldn't have been on your territory. I just knew there was Twolegplace on the other side and I thought-"

Brightstar swished her tail over Thrushpaw's mouth, silencing him. "It would've been easier for you to head to Highstones. There's Twolegplace beyond that. Now, tell me, why would you rather go through _ThunderClan _territory to get to Twolegplace instead of heading towards Highstones?"

"I don't know," Thrushpaw admitted.

"You're a strong cat, Thrushpaw," she observed. "I'm not sure why Coldstar let you go."

Thrushpaw was touched by Brightstar's phrase and his eyes immediately lit up. He liked that a cat, _a leader, _from another clan thought he was valuable.

"Do you want to go live as a kittypet?" she asked.

"No," Thrushpaw meowed, "I just didn't have any other place to go."

"I saw that catch you made earlier," she observed. "Quite a catch for any cat, especially you, being a RiverClan cat." She looked away, as though trying to carefully make out the words she was going to say. "How would you think about joining ThunderClan?"

"M-me?" he asked. "Join ThunderClan?"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Some cat wanted him in their clan. He knew he had the ability, he'd always dreamed of being part of ThunderClan, he just never thought it could happen.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Brightstar asked curiously.

"A-a yes!" Thrushpaw exclaimed. "Brightstar, this means... I can't... I mean..."

Brightstar waved him off. "You don't need to thank me." Thrushpaw thought that he detected a purr in her voice. "Just do your job as a loyal member of ThunderClan. I expect that I won't catch you looking over to RiverClan or stealing their pray. I'm certain you'll be a fine asset to this clan." She hesitated before adding, "I'll mentor you." Then she heaved herself to her paws. "Come. Let's announce this to the clan." She flicked her tail, guiding Thrushpaw out of her den.

As they padded out, Brightstar once again turned to Thrushpaw and he twitched his ears towards her as she spoke again.

"And mind you. Not every cat may be welcoming right away."

* * *

**Done with this chapter! Okay, so I have a ton of homework and tests this week. I've been procrastinating the past half an hour finishing up this chapter instead of studying for math! Ack! Now I need to go study, but I hope you've all enjoyed it. Next chapter is from Leafkit's POV! AHH! I've thought out Leafkit and I love her, so I hope you guys do too! Keep reading!**

**xoxo**

**-Leaf**


	6. Chapter 5

**Welcome to chapter 5! School work may prevent me from updating as much but I promise to never leave you guys. I'll always make sure to update no matter what. Anyway, I'd like to have more reviews so if you guys could get around to it, please read or leave a review! I hate feeling like no one cares enough to read my story, because frankly, that just makes me want to stop writing it. But I promise not to give up on this story guys. So please, keep reviewing and reading, and I'll keep updating! Now without further ado...**

**-Leaf  
**

* * *

Chapter 5

Leafkit poked her head out of the nursery, only to be pulled back inside by her mother. "What are you doing, Leafkit? You're still recovering from your cold."

"It was just a _cold,_" Leafkit whined, defending herself. "Besides, I was just looking!"

Poppyfeather sighed, leaning back, her belly swollen with the kits she was soon to bear. "Kits these days," she purred. "Always so adventurous and curious. Go on, Leafkit. You can go outside. I'll watch you if your mother won't."

Briarcloud sighed, looking around. "Always spoiling them. What're you going to do when your kits are born?"

"That's when it'll be another cat's turn to let them off the hook," she mewed wistfully, and then, still staring at Leafkit, nodded. "Go on."

"Thanks, Poppyfeather," Leafkit mewed and bounded outside.

Outside, she saw her sister Snowkit being showed the hunter's crouch by Ashpaw. The pale gray tabby tom was squashed to the ground and Snowkit was making an attempt to mimic his motions. Leafkit let out a _mrrow_ of amusement as she saw her sister trying to flatten herself to the ground, but her snowy pelt stuck out like a fox on the moor.

"Good job, Snowkit!" Ashpaw praised.

"I'm certain your pelt will scare off all the prey before you even catch it!" Leafkit teased.

"Hey!" Snowkit began to object, but Ashpaw just purred, listening to the two kits bicker.

"It's okay, Snowkit," Ashpaw meowed. "Just make sure to flatten your tail." He took his tail and pinned down Snowkit's with it. "Now pretend to be stalking a leaf," he mewed and pretended to be stalking a leaf.

Snowkit pretended to be stalking a leaf and then landed on Leafkit's tail. Leafkit let out a squeal and jumped up.

"Gotcha!" Snowkit purred.

"I'm not a leaf!" Leafkit objected.

"Sure you are," her sister teased. "You're _Leaf_kit."

Leafkit rolled her eyes and Ashpaw walked over to them, flicking the sister's ears. The next moment, Brightstar entered camp followed by a ginger-and-gray tabby tom. Leafkit cocked her head to the side. She'd never seen _that cat_ before.

"That's Thrushpaw!" Snowkit hissed at her as though answering her thoughts. "He's part of our clan now. He's from RiverClan."

"Yeah," scoffed Ashpaw. "And his fish stench still stinks up the entire apprentice's den. I hope it fades soon or else I'm going to be sleeping in the clearing soon."

"Hopefully he'll be out of the apprentice's den before we're there," Snowkit mewed. "RiverClan cats shouldn't be part of our clan."

Ashpaw muttered, but Leafkit didn't join in the conversation. Instead, she watched as Thrushpaw set a feeble rabbit down on the fresh-kill pile. He turned and spoke to the leader for a few moments before sullenly trekking over to the apprentice's den. Leafkit couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Didn't the rest of the clan remember that Whiskerface, one of their very own elders, had been born in WindClan? Leafkit twitched her ears and then headed back into the nursery.

"Back so soon?" Briarcloud inquired gently.

"Snowkit and Ashpaw are boring," Leafkit mewed, deciding to go with the simplest response to avoid questioning from her mother.

Briarcloud purred. "You silly kit."

"Could I go visit the elders?" Leafkit asked, wanting to talk to Whiskerface.

"If you're back by sundown," Briarcloud meowed. "Promise?"

Leafkit nodded and Briarcloud then flicked her tail signalling that her daughter was allowed to go. Leafkit stood up and bounded back out into the clearing towards the elder's den.

"Leafkit! Where are you going?" Snowkit turned from where she and Ashpaw had once again busied themselves. Ashpaw was now showing Snowkit a fighting technique.

"To visit the elders," Leafkit responded, keeping her voice level.

"Can I come?" Snowkit piped up.

Leafkit hesitated. "I'd rather go alone," she meowed after a moment. She saw her sister gave her an annoyed glance, but after a moment Ashpaw called to her.

"Come on, Snowkit! Let's practice!"

And Snowkit immediately forgot about Leafkit. She bounded towards Ashpaw leaving Leafkit to the elders alone.  
Leafkit picked a mouse for the elders on the way and then headed towards their den. When she entered, the two elders immediately headed towards her.

"Leafkit!" rasped Gorsepelt. "Still not an apprentice I see."

Leafkit dropped the mouse in front of them and shrugged. "By the next Gathering hopefully."

"Thanks, Leafkit," Whiskerface meowed and then turned to Gorsepelt. "She'll become an apprentice when she's six moons old. Stop rushing it. I like the kits. This is the time when they like us before they're stuck dealing with our pelts. That's then they're grumbling in here all day long and I can't stand it. I'd rather deal with my own ticks."

"Where's Snowkit?" Gorsepelt demanded, ignoring Whiskerface's rant.

"With Ashpaw," Leafkit shrugged. "He's showing her some fighting technique."

"I remember when we were young and used to show each other fighting techniques," Whiskerface sighed, turning to Gorsepelt, laughing. "Remember the time Mosspaw and I tried showing you a technique but we showed it to you two different ways?"

Gorsepelt purred remembering. "I couldn't get it and when I tried combining the two of them Fallowwing wasn't impressed. She told me I looked like a kit trying to catch a flea."

A purr rumbled in Whiskerface's throat, and Leafkit sensed that she would soon have the opportunity to ask a question about Whiskerface when he joined ThunderClan.

"What's bothering you, Leafkit?" Gorsepelt asked, as though answering her thoughts. "You're sitting in here, yet you've barely spoken. You're usually chattering away."

"Whiskerface, what was it like when you first came to ThunderClan?"

Whiskerface laughed. "Oh, it's been so long since I've told this story..." He turned to face Gorsepelt. "This cat is going to have to help me out a few times while telling this story. When I first came I was so miserable I barely even remember what happened."

"Well, why did you come?" Leafkit prompted, bouncing up and down.

"Excited, much?" Whiskerface purred, amusement glittering in his eyes. "Well then, settle down, Leafkit."

Leafkit stilled herself.

"It happened in leaf-bare," he began. My father was ThunderClan and my mother was WindClan. It was an awful leaf-bare. Our leader at the time, Mintstar, was weak and old. He only had three lives going into it, but he lost all of them that leaf-bare. My mother, Deerfur, was young and strong, and she insisted on hunting for the clan. Most of the clan told her that it wasn't a good idea. The clan needed her in case anything happened. Also, we'd recently been in a battle with RiverClan and she'd dislocated her shoulder." Whiskerface sighed, pausing before continuing his story. "When no one else let her go out, I told her I'd take her. I was only an apprentice, I wasn't that intelligent. By brother Harepaw told my mother that she'd be stupid to go out, but I gently coaxed her until she agreed. We went out, but when we did, her muscle wrenched and she collapsed. She couldn't move and when a tree fell, I couldn't get back to camp. She died of hypothermia. It was as though it was a punishment from StarClan. Harepaw blamed me, but he didn't have much time for it." He shook his head, his eyes welling with sadness. "Harepaw died of greencough less than a moon later. In ThunderClan, my father was protected by the leaves overhead, and they had warm nests. At this time, ThunderClan was thriving. My mother came to me in a dream and told me that to survive, I'd have to go to ThunderClan. She didn't blame me for her death." Whiskerface turned and locked eyes with Leafkit. "I went. That leaf-bare, almost all of WindClan was wiped out, but I survived. I thank Deerfur for that to this day."

When he had finished, Leafkit realized she hadn't gotten any of the answers she'd wanted.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, but then plunged immediately into her next question. "How did the clan react?"

"Fiesty today, aren't you?" Whiskerface purred. "Well, if I remember clearly, I was simply miserable. I didn't care."

"I remember," Gorsepelt butted in, taking over. "No cat would look at him from what I remember. Brightstar wasn't even born yet. She was born right after Whiskerface became a warrior. But no cat liked him. I remember that Mosspaw and I used to throw him all these dirty looks, but my mentor kept pressing me, telling me that 'that Whiskerpaw fella is a good one and you should take after him.'" Gorsepelt laughed. "I remember that. We became friends. And it was a hard leaf-bare for us too, and I think that that's what bonded us. I don't even remember what happened after that."

"So will this happen to Thrushpaw?" Leafkit asked tentatively.

"I had a feeling this would tie in," Whiskerface murmured.

"That cat," grumbled Gorsepelt, making a point of mentioning that he didn't like him.

"Thrushpaw is different," Whiskerface meowed quickly.

"How?" Leafkit demanded defensive of Thrushpaw. "You weren't Clanborn either, Whiskerface!"

"But my father was," Whiskerface pointed out gently.

"So?"

"Thrushpaw isn't from ThunderClan," Whiskerface mewed.

"But he could be," Leafkit hissed bitterly. "If only you'd accept him."

"We don't know if his loyalty lies with ThunderClan," Gorsepelt mewed gently.

"Did Whiskerface's loyalty lie with ThunderClan when he first came?" Leafkit snapped.

Leafkit crouched down, knowing she shouldn't be talking to an elder like she was and after a moment looked up.

"Well?" Whiskerface mewed.

"I'm sorry," Leafkit sighed. "I just don't like seeing cats... so..."

"Unhappy?" Whiskerface ventured.

Leafkit nodded.

"You have a good heart, Leafkit," Whiskerface purred, drawing his tail around her. "If you believe in Thrushpaw, I'll believe in him. For you."

"I just don't want to see him get hurt," Leafkit meowed. "He's our Clanmate now."

"So he is," Whiskerface nodded, agreeing. "And both Gorsepelt and I will accept him, won't we?" He cast Gorsepelt a menacing glance.

"Yes," Gorsepelt nodded.

Leafkit didn't know whether or not to believe them. But it didn't matter. Just knowing that Whiskerface was accepted in the end made her feel better. No, she didn't know Thrushpaw, but yes, she did know that no cat liked him. Leafkit was determined to prove to the clan that his loyalty lay with them.

"I should be going," Leafkit meowed, rising to her paws. "Thank you."

"No, thank you," Gorsepelt purred.

Leafkit headed towards the den's entrance.

"Stop by soon!" Whiskerface called out as she left.

Leafkit waved her tail, acknowledging his words and padded back towards the nursery. The sun had begun to set, and the cats were all gathering around the clearing for mealtime. Snowkit wasn't anywhere to be seen, while Ashpaw was spotted munching on a rabbit with Silverpaw and Sagepaw. When Leafkit looked closely, she though it looked like the rabbit that Thrushpaw had caught earlier. Feeble and small. Yet, she doubted that Ashpaw knew this. If he had, would he be eating it? She doubted it.

She headed back into the nursery to find Snowkit sitting with a mouse.

"There you are!" she announced. "Briarcloud wouldn't let me start eating until you'd gotten here! I was going to come get you!"

"It's polite to wait," Briarcloud mewed, flicking Snowkit on the ears. She was busy sharing a piece of fresh-kill with Poppyfeather.

"So what were you talking to the elders about?" Snowkit asked quietly.

"Nothing much," Leafkit meowed.

"Did they give you boring elder chat?" Snowkit asked. "Were they bickering?"

Leafkit decided not to tell her sister about what they were talking about. It would be best for her not to know. "I guess," she mewed.

"So it was so boring that you don't remember?" Snowkit meowed.

"Sure," Leafkit sighed.

Snowkit shrugged and then delved into the mouse. Leafkit curled up next to her sister so that their pelts were touching and bit down into the mouse. It was best, she decided, if Snowkit could believe what she wanted. But Leafkit knew that, no matter what, she'd find a way to prove to the clan that Thrushpaw belonged.

* * *

**Finally done with this chapter! Longest one yet! So what do you guys think of Leafkit? Can't wait until her and Snowkit are apprenticed! That's when the real action starts! Please review! Love you all!  
**

**3 Leaf  
**

**PS. Chapter 6 will be up ASAP! But with a lot going on, I'm not certain as to when this will be.  
**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Happy holidays! I'm so sorry for not updating in so long! But hey, here I am again! I told you, I will keep updating until I finish this story no matter how long it takes. Well, here goes nothing! Enjoy chapter 6. **

**-Leaf :)**

* * *

Chapter 6

"Smell," directed Brightstar.

Thrushpaw sniffed the air. He hesitated for a moment. He'd been part of ThunderClan for a quarter moon now, and he was becoming used to the senses and sounds. He still couldn't identify every cats' scent, but there were some that were becoming quite familiar with him, especially the ones of those he didn't like. This especially included Briarcloud, whom he'd found to be more prickly than she appeared to be. Brightstar had suggested that she go and clear out the elder's bedding, but Briarcloud had practically clawed his ears off with the thought of him being anywhere near her kits.

"Squirrel!" Thrushpaw mewed automatically.

"Good," Brightstar praised, a purr in the back of her throat. "I can see you're a true ThunderClan cat. When Mudpelt was my apprentice, even he didn't learn so quickly."

Thrushpaw felt the praise running through to the tips of his toes. Brightstar had already showed him the entire territory, and how to stalk mice, voles, and squirrels like a ThunderClan cat. He'd caught on almost immediately. He hadn't realized that Brightstar had even noticed.

"Can I hunt?" Thrushpaw asked, his paws itching to catch the squirrel. Its scent was drawing nearer and aiming himself downwind he was dropped into a hunting crouch and after the squirrel before Brightstar could stop him. He stealthily chased after it and landed on it easily He killed it in one swift bite. He carried it back to Brightstar, who looked pleased.

"Good catch," she purred. "You can bring it to the elders when we get back. But today, I'm going to teach you how to stalk rabbits."

"But they're so _fast,_" Thrushpaw commented.

"Well, you're fast, Thrushpaw," Brightstar commented. "What do you think is the difference between mice and rabbits?"

Thrushpaw hesitated for a moment before answering. "Well," he answered carefully. "When you stalk mice, you have to be light on your paws and sneaky or else they're hear you." He paused for another moment, and he was well aware of Brightstar's gaze hot on his pelt. "And when you stalk rabbits... you have to be fast! It's about speed and cleverness."

"Very good!" Brightstar sounded pleased. "Come," she beckoned. "This way is better."

Brightstar leaped away and Thrushpaw had to scrabble to his paws to keep up with her. He admired Brightstar's spirit, and couldn't doubt where she'd gotten her name from. He chased after Brightstar until they reached closer to Fourtrees. Brightstar paused when they arrived and beckoned for Thrushpaw to join her. Thrushpaw settled down.

"Anywhere near Fourtrees," she mewed. "Or near the WindClan border."

A moment later a rabbit scurried out of its hole, and looked around, not spotting either Brightstar or Thrushpaw. Then it leapt out. Brightstar hesitated for only a moment before chasing it down and pinning it to the ground. She brought it back and buried it.

"See," she commented.

"Why didn't it spot you?" Thrushpaw inquired. They'd been right in its path.

"Mind you," she added, her eyes shining with mischief. "They're dumb."

* * *

As the sun was beginning to set, Brightstar wrapped up for the day, clearly pleased with Thrushpaw's work. He'd caught two rabbits and another mouse. Thrushpaw went back to retrieve the squirrel he'd caught earlier, and Brightstar helped him to carry his prey back to camp. When they arrived, Brightstar dropped her prey onto the fresh-kill pile and Thrushpaw followed her.

"I'm very proud of you," Brightstar murmured, her mouth pressed up against Thrushpaw's ear, barely loud enough for Thrushpaw to hear. "Go give your squirrel to the elders and then you can rest."

"Thanks, Brightstar," Thrushpaw mewed, giving his leader a smile.

Thrushpaw picked up the squirrel again and headed towards the elder's den. He'd only been there once before, and he already knew that he wasn't a fan favorite of the elders. Gorsepelt and Whiskerface hadn't spoken the entire time and when he'd left, he'd heard them immediately break into hushed whispers. He'd overheard Sagepaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw talking about how Whiskerface was formerly of WindClan. Clearly this didn't make him any nicer to Thrushpaw, considering the fact that _he_ was formerly of _RiverClan._

Thrushpaw reminded himself that even if the elders didn't yet respect him, he was a loyal ThunderClan member and there will still days on end to prove himself loyal. He couldn't think of a single cat who'd shown him respect yet, though. It was as though he was an invisible wall and no one wanted to talk to him. Thrushpaw hung his head down, telling himself not to get discouraged as he brought his piece of prey into the elder's den. _  
_

"Thrushpaw!" Whiskerface turned to him, seeing somewhat more upbeat and nice since the last time he'd seen them. Thrushpaw assumed that it was because this time he had prey and he wasn't busy sorting through the old cat's pelt.

"Hi, Whiskerface," Thrushpaw mewed, greeting him with the dip of his head.

"What a fine catch," Gorsepelt commented, his voice nonchalant, yet brittle.

Thrushpaw dropped the fresh-kill in front of the two elders. There was no thanks from them. They began to devour the squirrel and Thrushpaw sighed backing out. But before he'd backed all the way out, Whiskerface stopped him.

"Thrushpaw?"

Thrushpaw turned around, surprised to hear the elderly cat speaking to him.

"Leafkit, one of Briarcloud's kits, came to see about you a few days ago."

Thrushpaw didn't get why this should spark any sort of interest in him. No cat cared about him anyway. He was certain Leafkit probably just had intentions of making fun of him like all the other cats did.

"Don't look so down, Thrushpaw," Whiskerface added quickly. "She cares about you." There was a faint glimmer of amusement in his voice. "I have a feeling she fancies you somewhat."

Thrushpaw faced Whiskerface and saw that his eyes were laughing. "Thanks, Whiskerface." Thrushpaw knew that his response sounded more sardonic than sincere, but he couldn't imagine any cat in the clan liking him, let along _fancying _him. Whiskerface was old. He'd clearly interpreted it wrong.

"I'd treat her nicely if I were you," Whiskerface added calmly. "Not all cats in this clan will hold their hostility forever."

Thrushpaw wondered what Whiskerface was getting at and without answering, Thrushpaw padded out of the den. Even though he was still confused by the elderly cat's words, he wondered if there was a chance that Leafkit - whoever that was - somewhat cared about him. Maybe the rest of the cats would come around as well. It seemed as though, to some extent, Whiskerface had.

A small smile spread across Thrushpaw's face, so that even as he took a piece of fresh-kill and brought it over to the apprentice's side of camp to eat alone, he didn't feel as lonely as he usually did.

* * *

**Ch. 7 will be up soon! It's from Leafkit's POV as well. I hope you guys don't mind. It's going to become more of an alternating chapter thing (one from Leafkit's POV, one from Thrushpaw's). Please review!**

**-Leaf**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Leafkit poked her head out of the nursery, filled with curiosity. The sun was setting and the sky had turned to a light purple. She knew that leaf-bare was coming soon, and she'd often heard Ashpaw and Sagepaw conversing about snow the other day. Both apprentices hadn't lived their first leaf-bare yet, and both were eager to spot snow for the first time.

"What do you think it'll look like?" prompted Sagepaw.

"White?" Ashpaw guessed.

"Why?" Sagepaw cocked her head to the side confused.

"Because _Snow_kit is white!" Ashpaw mewed._  
_

"Well maybe Briarcloud just liked the way it sounded," argued Sagepaw.

Ashpaw rolled his eyes. "Kits are named for what they look liked." Sagepaw looked surprised. "Mousebrain," Ashpaw muttered under his breath.

Leafkit recalled the conversation clearly and wondered if snow really was white. Snowkit was curled up beside Briarcloud, sleeping contently. Leafkit let out a _mrrow_ of amusement, trying to imagine Snowkit out in the forest. She could already imagine her sister clearly standing out amongst everything else.

Leafkit gazed longingly out into camp as she saw Cherrystem, Mudpelt, Spottedpath, and Silverpaw return with prey. Leafkit tried to imagine herself walking back into camp with all that prey.

Leafkit knew that she and Snowkit were due for their apprentice ceremony shortly. Leafkit flicked her ears. It couldn't hurt to go into the forest, could it? I mean, she was almost six moons old. She was bound to be before the next Gathering, right?

Leafkit began to bounce up and down at the thought. Of course she could go out into the forest! What would really happen?

"What're you thinking about?" Poppyfeather purred, her voice calm, approaching the kit.

"I want to know what the forest is like," Leafkit admitted curiously.

Poppyfeather's ears pricked with amusement and she gave both of Leafkit's ears a lick. "Don't worry, little one," she assured her. "You'll be an apprentice before you know it."

Leafkit sighed, squashing herself to the ground. "I doubt it," she grumbled.

Poppyfeather shrugged and returned to her nest where she curled up in a ball. Leafkit wandered over to her mother and settled down against her, burying her nose into her fur. Leafkit watched as Briarcloud instinctively drew her tail over Leafkit, protecting her. Leafkit settled down and drifted into a deep sleep.

Leafkit's eyes flew open. She looked around and noticed that she was in a place she'd never been before. Her eyes felt groggy and she shook her head, waking herself up. She peered around and then noticed that she was in a territory she'd never been in before. Leafkit wildly flailed her paws.

Briarcloud? Snowkit? Where were they?

"Peace, dear one." Leafkit spun around to see a small silver she-cat and a dark gray tom. Leafkit peered at them uncertainly.

"Who are you?" Leafkit quivered underneath their gaze. Their pelts had stars in them and it took a moment for Leafkit to realize they were StarClan warriors. "Are you from StarClan?" she croaked. Then, another terrifying thought slipped into her mind. "Am I dead?" she added, her eyes wide.

The silver she-cat purred, her voice gentle. "No, little one. You're not dead. I'm Silverstar." She guided the gray tom forward. "And this is Graystar."

"What're you doing here?" Leafkit asked, looking nervous.

"We're here to tell you about Thrushpaw."

"No one likes him," Leafkit mewed miserably, thinking of the way she'd seen the other cats treat him. The poor apprentice was just trying to fit in.

"Dear, Leafkit, that's nothing to worry about," Silverstar mewed gently. "We've come to tell you that Thrushpaw will prove himself loyal. You mustn't worry."

"I don't worry!" Leafkit protested, but even as she spoke, she knew it wasn't true.

"You worry because you care," Silverstar sympathized. "You already have the heart of a warrior."

The silver she-cat's praise made Leafkit's pelt tingle. "Thank you, Silverstar," she mewed, dipping her head.

"We know this is new to you," Silverstar meowed. "But I will follow you and find you many times in dreams. You are a unique cat. Now many are spoken to by StarClan warriors apart from the Moonstone. To be quite frank, most of them are never spoken to by StarClan warriors in their lifetime."

"Follow your paws." Graystar spoke for the first time. "You have a destiny unlike any other cat before you as does Thrushpaw. With your help, he'll find it."

"We are here for you," Silverstar added.

With that, the two cats began to disappear, slowly fading away. Leafkit watched as they began to disappear among the forest floor.

This pricked Leafkit's ears. "What? A-a destiny? Graystar! Silverstar! Come back!"

"Leafkit, Leafkit!"

Leafkit's eyes flew open and she found herself back inside of her nest. Briarcloud was prodding her gently and Leafkit quickly snuggled back up against her mother. Outside, the forest was dark, and Leafkit felt chills trying to imagine what was out there.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Briarcloud murmured gently. "You were thrashing in your sleep."

Leafkit turned away. "I'm okay," she mewed, but Leafkit couldn't get the thought of the two leaders out of her head.

She turned to see that the sky was already beginning to lighten up. She sighed stepping out of the nursery.

Leafkit wandered around outside of the nursery and settled down outside. She was much more comfortable outside than she was inside. She turned her head towards the apprentice's den, somewhat hoping to see Thrushpaw appear. She could already imagine her mother's expression if she tried talking to the young apprentice, but curiosity threatened her more.

_Whatever_, Leafkit thought,_ It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter, because once I'm an apprentice, I'll find out if what the others are saying about Thrushpaw really _is _true. I trust him, even though I don't know him, and that's what matters._

But even as Leafkit tried to give herself comfort and make her wait until she was an apprentice to find out more, she needed to know more. She needed to. Thrushpaw was a loyal ThunderClan apprentice who knew where his loyalties lay. There was no point in trying to convince herself otherwise.

And she'd heard Brightstar talking about how they needed more warriors. If this was true, then Thrushpaw deserved his place in ThunderClan. And after what she'd been told by Silverstar and Graystar, Leafkit knew that she was also going to be one of the cats to shape Thrushpaw's destiny. She just hoped that no cat got in her way first.

* * *

**That wasn't as good as I thought. No, no, no, it wasn't! Okay. The next chapter is a good one though. I'm so excited for it. It'll be up soon! **

**-Leaf**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Have you checked out my new fic, _A Raven in the Shadows,_ a sequel to _The Last_ Hope? If not, give it a go! I need to know if it's worth completing, thanks. :)  
**

**I'm going to give you all a heads up saying that I'm going to be busy a lot the next few weeks so if I don't update this one or _A Raven in the Shadows,_ I'm sorry. I'll get to it as soon as possible without a doubt. Promise! Anyway, before you stop reading because of this really boring intro I'll hand it to you: Chapter 8!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Thrushpaw crouched down amongst the brambles by himself, peering around to see if anyone else was paying attention, but no one was. He knew that Leafkit and Snowkit's apprentice ceremony was that day, and he couldn't bear to miss it. He hadn't had a chance to speak to Leafkit, but now that they were going to be in the same den, he knew that he could sneak a chance at talking to her.

"What're you doing here?"

Thrushpaw jumped in surprise to see Sagepaw behind him, glowering at him. Thrushpaw crouched down. What an inconvenient time to be caught.

"N-nothing!" Thrushpaw stammered.

Sagepaw rolled her eyes. "Don't you have better things to do than hide out in _brambles._ Really, Thrushpaw." The apprentice gave Thrushpaw a look that made her seem like a know-it-all. "I know you may have to prove your loyalty time and time again, but you're not going to get anywhere by hiding in _brambles._"

Thrushpaw twitched uncomfortably, uncertain of what to say. The black-and-white she-cat let out a hiss of annoyance and then scampered off to join her sister Silverpaw, who was munching on a vole.

Sagepaw's words rang in Thrushpaw's ears. He couldn't really be scared, could he? He doubted it, but Thrushpaw already knew that no cat seemed to trust him at all. Thrushpaw dropped his head, feeling uncomfortable and then pushed his way out of the brambles. There really was no point in hiding. He knew the ceremony was bound to start at any moment.

Thrushpaw fixed his gaze on the leader's den and breathed a sigh of relief when Brightstar leaped onto the Highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Thrushpaw was one of the first to gather, and he saw Brightstar flash him a quick smile. Thrushpaw didn't know what it was for, but he didn't dwell on it as he saw Leafkit and Snowkit being led up to the rock by Briarcloud, who looked ready to burst with pride. Their father Tumblefur was on their other side. Leafkit and Snowkit almost looked more proud than their mother, their pelts freshly groomed and shining.

Thrushpaw then saw Poppyfeather bounding after her three kits who were less than a moon old. "Nettlekit! Blackkit! Swankit! Come back here right now!" she called.

But the three kits were paying her no heed. They were playing with a ball of moss and Blackkit shrieked, flinging the moss ball at his sister. Swankit squealed as it hit her square in the head.

"Blackkit!" Poppyfeather cast her kits a scolding glance and then dragged them away towards the edge of the clearing so they wouldn't get in the way.

Thrushpaw then turned his gaze back to Brightstar to see that she was about ready to begin the ceremony.

"New apprentices are always a blessing to the Clan," Brightstar began smoothly. "They help us to grow and show that we are strong especially in the early days of greenleaf." A smile was etched across Brightstar's face. "Today, we are here to honor this day by making Leafkit and Snowkit apprentices." She beckoned Snowkit forward with her tail. Snowkit's white pelt shimmered in the sunlight. "Snowkit," Brightstar began. "Until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Snowpaw." Brightstar turned to Whiteheart. "Whiteheart," she mewed promptly. "You trained Raincloud well and you are now ready for your second apprentice. You will be mentor to Snowpaw."

Whiteheart let out a purr and padded over to Snowpaw. Snowpaw was bursting with pride as she and Whiteheart touched noses. Thrushpaw then focused his gaze on Leafkit, wondering if she had seen him, but Leafkit was too busily focused on Brightstar.

"Leafkit, until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Leafpaw. Foxfire, you are ready for your first apprentice. I trust you to pass on all your skills to this young apprentice."

Foxfire dipped his dead and padded over to Leafpaw who practically slammed her nose into Foxfire's. Foxfire cast Leafpaw an amused look, and the she-cat looked embarrassed, dipping her head.

"Leafpaw! Snowpaw!"

The cats raised their voices to the two new apprentices and began to crowd around them congratulating them. Thrushpaw hesitated, realizing that it wasn't the right time and quickly slipped away from the crowd as Brightstar bounded down from the Highrock.

"Thrushpaw!" she called to him, beckoning him with her tail before he could get away.

Hesitating, Thrushpaw padded up to Brightstar and she pulled him aside.

"Yes, Brightstar?" Thrushpaw asked.

"Listen," Brightstar began and Thrushpaw could tell that she was struggling to keep a pleasant look on her face. "I know that you haven't exactly..."

Thrushpaw sensed her struggling for the right word and he tipped his head to the side wondering if she'd say the one he was hoping for her to say. When she didn't reply, Thrushpaw jumped in. "Fit in?" he suggested.

Brightstar cringed. "Yes. But look, Briarcloud, she's spoken to me, and I've tried to convince her that you're not going to do anything wrong and that you're completely loyal to ThunderClan."

"I am!" Thrushpaw mewed defensively.

"No, _I know._" Brightstar sighed. "But Briarcloud doesn't. I need you to just respect that. So don't jump out at Snowpaw and Leafpaw right away. I'm not so worried about them as I am about Briarcloud."

Anger forced its way through Thrushpaw. He didn't need to be told what to do. Why did no cat understand that his loyalty was with ThunderClan and ThunderClan _alone?_ What did he need to do to prove that he was only loyal to ThunderClan?

"I can handle myself," Thrushpaw spat.

Brightstar gave Thrushpaw a long glance, and Thrushpaw half-expected her to scold him for talking back to her. Instead, she just turned away and escaped into her den. Thrushpaw bit back a retort. Brightstar had promised to teach him a new battle move that day.

Thrushpaw turned back to the clearing to see that all the cats had cleared out, but Foxfire who was talking with Leafpaw.

"Why can't I go out with _Snowpaw_?" Leafpaw whined. "I don't need to spend the day cleaning out the stinky elder's den! Why does she get to see the territory?"

Thrushpaw crept out of sight, deciding to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Because it's important to learn how to care for the elder's!" Foxfire snapped.

"So?" Leafpaw shot back.

Foxfire growled at her angrily. "Go, Leafpaw," he mewed, trying to control his temper. "I asked you to clean out the elder's den and you're going to. I promise we'll go explore the territory like Snowpaw soon. But it's also important to learn how to clean out the elder's den."

"Do you think I don't know how?" Leafpaw snapped.

Thrushpaw struggled to see Foxfire's expression. Foxfire instead stalked away towards the nursery to visit Poppyfeather and his kits.

Leafpaw lashed her tail and stalked towards the entrance of camp to collect moss. Thrushpaw pushed his way forward to reveal himself. He didn't care what Brightstar told him. If she was going to leave him in camp collecting all day, the most he could do was at least lend a hand to Leafpaw.

"What do you want?" Leafpaw spat as Thrushpaw approached, spinning around.

Hurt filled Thrushpaw's gaze, and when Leafpaw realized it was Thrushpaw, she looked down embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I thought you were-"

"Foxfire?" Thrushpaw finished for her. He shrugged. "Do you need any help?"

"Won't Brightstar be doing training with you?"

Thrushpaw decided it was best not to bring up their argument and instead shook his head. "She thought it was best if we didn't. Do you need any help?"

Leafpaw didn't press for answers, and instead she gave Thrushpaw a grateful look. "Could you?"

"Sure!" Thrushpaw replied, happy that one cat wasn't trying to rip his fur out. "What do you need me to do?"

Leafpaw shrugged. "This is your task, not mine. You can do what you want." She grasped a bunch of moss in her jaws and Thrushpaw cringed.

"Leafpaw," Thrushpaw began. "You might want to try grasping it a little lighter. Like this." Thrushpaw bent down and picked up some moss in his jaws lightly. It allowed him to pick up more at once. "That way you can carry more!" he mumbled through the moss.

"Thanks!" Leafpaw mewed. Then she looked down, annoyed. "I can't believe Foxfire didn't even show me how to do it."

"He's just busy," Thrushpaw meowed.

"Right. With Poppyfeather and those kits." Leafkit grasped a clump of moss, and Thrushpaw did the same. The two cats walked over to the medicine cat den and Berrywhisker appeared whisker's twitching.

"Mouse Bile?" interrogated Berrywhisker.

"Please!" Thrushpaw mewed, his voice stifled underneath the moss.

Berrywhisker nodded and flicked his tail towards a patch next to his den. "There's a bunch over there. Just dip it in."

"Thanks," Thrushpaw mewed, and he and Leafpaw headed over to where the Mouse Bile was located and began dipping the moss in it. "It's not just the kits," Thrushpaw mewed, as they dipped the moss, picking up the conversation where they'd left off.

"Really?" Leafpaw growled. "Because it seems like he spends all his time with them. It's a queen's job to raise her kits, not the father's."

"Foxfire is just trying to be involved," Thrushpaw lied. He didn't know what the real reason was, but he wished that his father had been more involved when _he_ was a kit.

Leafpaw didn't respond, and the two of them headed for the elder's den, their mouths filled with the horrific taste of Mouse Bile.

"Great!" Gorsepelt exclaimed spotted Leafpaw. "And who do you have with you?" Gorsepelt then spotted Thrushpaw. "You again!"

"Gorsepelt..."

Thrushpaw sensed Whiskerface's warning tone, but brushed it off. "Where are your ticks?" he demanded.

"Oh, there's one here," Whiskerface mewed quickly before Gorsepelt could get in the way. "There's this place right behind my neck that I can't quite seem to reach."

"Okay," Thrushpaw mewed while Leafpaw turned to Gorsepelt.

"First apprentice task, eh?" Gorsepelt asked Leafpaw, throwing her a much more pleasant look than he'd ever thrown Thrushpaw.

Leafpaw just grumbled as she began to paw through Gorsepelt's fur.

Thrushpaw soon found the tick and he pressed the moss against it. It soon reacted to the Mouse Bile and fell off Whiskerface's pelt.

"Ick," Thrushpaw grumbled pawing through Whiskerface's fur.

"Is this always this disgusting?" Leafpaw muttered.

"Nah, it's just Gorsepelt's fur," Whiskerface replied, teasing.

Thrushpaw watched in amusement as the two elders teased each other. It seemed that, for the first time, in a long time, he wasn't a complete reject.

* * *

Thrushpaw and Leafpaw padded out of the elders den, having finished with them. The sun had set, and Leafpaw was beginning to look warn down.

"You look tired," Thrushpaw mewed, observing his tired Clanmate. "You should eat."

Leafpaw shrugged, shaking her head. "I haven't done anything today. The rest of the Clan should eat first."

"What? Leafpaw!" Thrushpaw threw Leafpaw a look of annoyance. "You've done a lot for the Clan today."

"Cleaning out Gorsepelt and Whiskerface's pelts is not doing something for the Clan," Leafpaw replied.  
There was a silence, but Leafpaw then got up and pressed her nose to Thrushpaw's pelt. "Thank you for your help."

Thrushpaw sighed as Leafpaw headed for the apprentice's den. He headed over to the fresh-kill pile to see Ashpaw picking a piece of fresh-kill.

"You know," Ashpaw sneered. "You'd better not get too close to Leafpaw. She'll come around soon enough and realize where _your_ loyalty lies."

"My loyalty lies to ThunderClan, and ThunderClan alone," Thrushpaw flashed back.

"I've seen the way you stare across the RiverClan border," Ashpaw mewed, obviously annoyed. "Leafpaw is my friend. I don't need to see her getting hurt because she becomes friends with some mangy crow-food eating pelt like you."

Ashpaw chose a squirrel and then turned away without waiting for a reply. Thrushpaw bit back the hurt. He was completely loyal to ThunderClan! No cat had any right to doubt him. He'd give his last breath for ThunderClan, no matter what. He'd prove that.

Thrushpaw picked up a vole and then headed for the apprentice's den. He pushed his way inside and saw that Leafpaw had made a nest beside his own, and she was curled up inside of it.

"I brought you a vole," Thrushpaw mewed.

When Leafpaw didn't reply, Thrushpaw wondered if she'd made a mistake, but when he placed it beside her, she rolled over so that she was facing him. She dragged it so that it was between the two of them.

"Thanks," she mewed quietly. "You didn't have to do that."

"You shouldn't go hungry," Thrushpaw shrugged, his pelt brimming with embarrassment. "And it was nothing."

"Don't act so noble," Leafpaw purred, taking a bite of the vole. "And even though I didn't get to spend the day exploring like Snowpaw, I made a friend," she added.

Thrushpaw blinked back his surprise. Leafpaw thought of him as a _friend._ It was his first real friend in ThunderClan.

"Maybe tomorrow you can show me something fun," she mewed. "I doubt Foxfire will have time for me anyway."

"Anything," Thrushpaw replied, a bit too eagerly, but Leafpaw didn't seem to notice his excessive enthusiasm.

Thrushpaw curled up in his nest, listening to Leafpaw eat the vole, and as he began to drift off to sleep, he realized that for the first time since he'd joined ThunderClan, he didn't feel so lonely after all.

* * *

**And there is chapter 8! Thrushpaw and Leafpaw! :o I love them.  
**

**SPOILER ALERT: The next chapter includes an adventure that doesn't really change the story, but it's important anyway. :)  
**

**Please review! Chapter 9 will be up as soon as possible.  
**

**-Leaf  
**


	10. Chapter 9

**Here comes Chapter 9 (while I'm supposed to be doing homework!) So, here it comes from Leafpaw's POV. Oh, and for someone who posted a review and asked where Blossompaw is, she's going to be back _very_ soon. I promise. But not in this chapter.  
**

* * *

Chapter 9

Leafpaw poked one eye open, sighing. She'd been an apprentice for three days and so far all she'd done was tend to the elders. Briarcloud had tried talking to Foxfire, but the tom had just told Leafpaw's mother that he'd taken her out when she was ready. Briarcloud knew better than to argue with Foxfire, but was clearly disappointed.

She rolled over to where Thrushpaw was snoring in his nest. She poked Thrushpaw and the apprentice lashed his tail, almost hitting her.

"Thrushpaw, wake up!" Leafpaw whispered in his ear.

Thrushpaw let out a groan and ignored her.

"Please!" begged Leafpaw. "I want to go out of camp."

There was a moment of silence, and Leafpaw thought that Thrushpaw hadn't heard her, but the next moment he rose to his paws, glaring at the apprentice.

"Wait till Foxfire takes you," he snapped.

"No!" Leafpaw whined, knowing that Thrushpaw was tired. Brightstar had been working him nonstop, trying to make his battle moves much stronger each day to which Thrushpaw hadn't been too pleased about. He'd received more than enough scratches from his battle training and Berrywhisker had suggested giving Thrushpaw a rest, but Thrushpaw had said he could handle it. Staring at Thrushpaw, Leafpaw wondered if he could.

"I'm sorry," Thrushpaw mewed, sighing, and rising to his paws. "I'll take you out."

"Really?" Leafpaw's eyes lit up and she started bouncing in her nest. She was finally leaving camp! She turned to see Snowpaw rustle in her den, and Thrushpaw lay his tail across her nose.

"Come on," he mewed. "The moonhigh patrol will be leaving soon, and I'd rather not catch that."

"Okay!" Leafpaw whispered and bounded out of the nest in the lead, being sure to keep light on her paws. Thrushpaw came after her, moving more slowly.

Leafpaw quickly scanned the camp to make sure that no one was out. When she was sure no one was she flicked her tail, signalling for Thrushpaw to follow. Mudpelt was on guard, so she slipped through the dirtplace tunnel with Thrushpaw quick on her paws.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Thrushpaw hissed under his breath.

Leafpaw shuffled her paws, moving to let Thrushpaw take the lead.

"Where are we going?" Leafpaw asked, barely able to contain her excitement. She couldn't believe that Thrushpaw had actually agreed to leave camp with her.

"I don't know." Thrushpaw yawned. "I heard there was a badger near the ShadowClan border the other day."

"Let's go there!" Leafpaw squealed.

Thrushpaw spun around, letting out a snarl. "You _never_ go near badgers."

Leafpaw shrunk back. For a moment she regretted asking Thrushpaw to take her. She thought she should've asked Snowpaw, but her sister had barely spoken to her since she'd started talking to Thrushpaw that she knew it was completely pointless.

"I'm sorry," Thrushpaw mumbled again. "I'm tired, that's all. Okay. How about I show you the Great Sycamore?" he suggested.

"Great!" Leafpaw meowed, eager to see anything.

"Okay," Thrushpaw agreed. "It's not too far from camp, and the moonhigh patrol also doesn't pass by there so we shouldn't have any trouble if we run into them."

He flicked his tail, leading the way, and Leafpaw bounded after Thrushpaw. The forest was so eerie at time. She shrieked as she stepped on a stick and it snapped beneath her. Thrushpaw whipped around to face her, and Leafpaw shrunk back, embarrassed.

"You don't need to have the Clan come running," growled Thrushpaw.

"Sorry," Leafpaw mewed.

The two cats walked in silence, Leafpaw taking in the forest scents around her. She could smell the fresh scent of prey, but she knew that she and Thrushpaw weren't on a hunting spree. She solemnly followed Thrushpaw until he abruptly halted below a giant tree.

"Is _this_ the Great Sycamore?" Leafpaw asked.

Leafpaw heard a purr in Thrushpaw's voice as he replied. "It is. It's hard to tell in the dark, but during the day it's magnificent."

"I can't wait till Foxfire finally takes me out of camp," Leafpaw breathed, her paws tingling with excitement.

"He will," Thrushpaw mewed thoughtfully.

Leafpaw turned to him and sighed. She knew that many of her Clanmates still didn't accept Thrushpaw, but at least he had _Brightstar_ as a mentor. She was great.

"What else?" Leafpaw asked eagerly.

"Well." Thrushpaw hesitated. "We're near the ShadowClan border, but the badger wasn't anywhere near here, so I think we'll be okay."

"So you'll take me?" Leafpaw demanded excited.

"As for as the Thunderpath," Thrushpaw mewed. "And don't you dare put a paw on it unless I tell you."

"Yes, Thrushpaw!" Leafpaw meowed and raced after Thrushpaw as he bounded ahead.

Leafpaw couldn't believe that she was out in the forest for the first time at night with Thrushpaw. He would be a great mentor.

Leafpaw sighed, drawing in the scents around her when the next moment scented a strong, strange scent in the air. She paused.

_ShadowClan?_ she wondered.

She looked around, and as her eyes flickered through the trees, she locked eyes with a gleaming yellow gaze. She let out a shrill shriek and the next moment felt the creature coming through the forest, and it didn't take her long to realize she was facing a badger.

"Thrushpaw!" she cried, trying to run. "Where are you? _Thrushpaw_!"

The badger was faster, and the next moment she felt it's teeth in her tail trying to hoist her into the air, but the next moment, she heard a yowl and she felt her tail escape the badger's grip.

"Thrushpaw?" she gasped, but turned to see Tumblefur, Whiteheart, and Petalfall.

"Go!" Tumblefur snapped at her, lunging at the badger where Whiteheart was already attached to its back raking her claws through it. Petalfall was raking its flank, but the badger was stronger. It picked up Petalfall in its jaws by the flank, and the young warrior let out a scream before being flung off to the side.

"No!" Leafpaw cried, looking at Petalfall and turning to her. "Petalfall," she mewed desperately, looking at the she-cat.

"I'm okay," Petalfall rasped, struggling to her paws, but collapsing once more.

"No, you're not," Leafpaw argued.

The next moment, she turned to see the badger stomping over to her, Whiteheart clinging to its back. Tumblefur raced forward, and Leafpaw spun around. Where was Thrushpaw?

And as though on cue, Thrushpaw burst from the trees to see the badger looming over Leafpaw.

"Thrushpaw!" wailed Leafpaw, blocking Petalfall.

She had no battle experience, but Petalfall was already hurt. She wouldn't let her get hurt again. Tumblefur lunged forward to throw off the badger, but the badger was faster, hurtling towards Leafpaw. Whiteheart scraped his back before falling off and landing on the forest floor.

Thrushpaw let out a hiss, knocking Leafpaw aside moments before it had its teeth around her neck. Leafpaw stumbled falling to the forest floor as she watched Thrushpaw swipe at the badger's eye. She saw blood well in it, and the badger angrily turned to Tumblefur, grasping him by the neck.

Leafpaw let out a cry of terror as the badger bit down. There was a terrifying crack at the sound of shattering bones, and Leafpaw ducked her head, not wanting to watch as Tumblefur went limp in its jaws.

* * *

**Ewe, ewe, ewe, God. What is happening to my writing? Okay. It'll get better. That chapter was terrible, but it's completely significant to the story. Tumblefur had to die. Next chapter will be up soon. Now I actually have to go do homework.  
**

**-Leaf  
**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Tumblefur! Tumblefur!"

Thrushpaw's heart broke as he heard Leafpaw's desperate wails as she raced for her father. He turned, instead, to watch as Petalfall and Whiteheart chased the badger off towards the Thunderpath.

_Let ShadowClan deal with it,_ he thought.

Thrushpaw turned his head back to where Leafpaw's ear-splitting wails filled the air. He cringed and slowly padded over to her, touching his nose to her fur where she was pressed up against her father.

"Leafpaw," Thrushpaw murmured gently.

"Go away!" snapped Leafpaw, but Thrushpaw could only hear the ache and pain in her voice.

"It's not your fault," Thrushpaw murmured gently. He turned to see Whiteheart and Petalfall hurrying towards them. Petalfall was limping from her previous injury, and Thrushpaw quickly hurried over, offering his shoulder for her to lean on.

"Thanks," Petallfall mewed, staggering unevenly as she dropped her weight onto him.

"Leafpaw, we have to get Tumblefur back to camp."

Thrushpaw turned to watch Whiteheart gently nudging Leafpaw, and Thrushpaw watched as Leafpaw pushed herself away. Her eyes looked clouded, and she appeared uncertain and confused.

"I'm okay," Petallfall whispered to Thrushpaw. "I'll help carry Tumblefur. Leafpaw looked a bit shaken up. You should probably help her."

Thrushpaw nodded, numbly hobbling over to his friend. Leafpaw looked sick as she collapsed against Thrushpaw, her head bent over in a heap of whimpers and sobs.

"It's okay," Thrushpaw murmured gently.

"No, it's not," Leafpaw cried. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't made you take me out here, and if we hadn't come this far, and if_"

Thrushpaw knew that it was partially his fault, but didn't say it, knowing it would make Leafpaw feel worse. "Come on," he mewed. "Let's get back to camp."

Slowly, Thrushpaw managed to get Leafpaw to her paws and then guided her back to camp.

"Leafpaw!" Briarcloud was the first to rush over to her, covering her with licks. "You're okay!"

Leafpaw nodded, still looking meek, and then scoured the camp. "Where's Tumblefur?"

Briarcloud turned away, and Thrushpaw turned to the center of camp where a bunch of cats surrounded his body.

"He died an honorable warrior." Brightstar was off to the side, watching, waiting until the rest of the cats had paid their final respects. "He died saving his Clan."

"You should've died instead!"

Thrushpaw heard a hiss in his ear and turned to see Snowpaw behind him, her eyes glazed with anger.

"Snowpaw!" Briarcloud quickly rushed over quieting her daughter. "That's no way to talk to Thrushpaw."

"_He_ isn't even Clan born!" wailed Snowpaw. "He should've died instead!"

"Thrushpaw saved me!" Leafpaw objected. "Would you rather _I_ be dead?" Her voice was taut, and Snowpaw didn't reply. Instead, Snowpaw turned and fled into the apprentice's den.

"I'll go grab her a poppy seed," murmured Raincloud, disappearing into Berrywhisker's den.

"It's not your fault," mewed Leafpaw, before trudging over to her father's body and pressing her nose against it.

Thrushpaw sighed, knowing that he'd broken the last straw. Snowpaw was right. He should've died, not Tumblefur. It was his fault.

"It's not your fault," Brightstar meowed, touching her nose to Thrushpaw's ear. "You saved Leafpaw. It'll take time for her to recover, but it means a lot."

"How are Petalfall and Whiteheart?" Thrushpaw asked anxiously.

"Whiteheart was okay," Brightstar mewed, "but Petalfall..." she looked hesitant. "Her wounds were deep, but she's young and strong. She'll be fine."

Thrushpaw nodded, and the next moment, Spottedpath padded up to him, dipping her head. "You did well, Thrushpaw," she mewed. "I had doubts about your loyalty, but tonight you saved a Clanmate. Good job."

Spottedpath's praise warmed Thrushpaw's pelt, as she then turned and disappeared into the warrior's den to go back to sleep.

"They'll appreciate you more now," Brightstar mewed knowingly. "Now go pay your final respects to Tumblefur. I need you on the dawn patrol tomorrow."

Thrushpaw nodded, padding over to Tumblefur where Leafpaw was still buried into his fur. He bent down, hesitating, before mewing quietly, "I didn't know you well. I wish I could have. Rest in peace and find all the hunting you need in StarClan."

Then he pulled away before padding over to the apprentice's den and slipping inside. Berrywhisker was busy feeding Snowpaw a poppy seed. Briarcloud was beside her.

"She'll be okay," Berrywhisker mewed, her voice lowered. "Just keep her off of apprentice's duties for the next few days."

"Okay," Briarcloud mewed, giving her daughter's ears a lick. "What about Leafpaw?"

"I'll see to her once she's done paying her respects," Berrywhisker responded. He then rose to his paws and slid out of the den.

Thrushpaw pretended to not be paying attention as he slid into his den, but Briarcloud turned to look at him the next moment and hurried over to him.

"Thank you," she mewed quietly.

Thrushpaw turned away. Briarcloud shouldn't be thanking him.

"I know you may blame feel as though you have some responsibility for Tumblefur's death, taking Leafpaw out and all, but you proved your loyalty to your Clan."

"Thank you," Thrushpaw mewed. "But it came with a price."

Briarcloud nodded. "I'm sorry for judging you before. It wasn't my place to do so." And with that, she turned and stalked away.

Thrushpaw sighed, curling up in his nest, and was about to close his eyes when he saw a pair of green eyes glaring straight into his. He jumped in fright, before realizing it was Snowpaw.

"I don't care what Briarcloud says," she snapped. "I will _never_ forgive you."

Thrushpaw wanted to say something, but he knew that it was no use to waste his words on something this pointless. Sagepaw and Silverpaw were asleep in their nests a few rabbit-lengths over and hadn't heard any of their conversation. Thrushpaw was glad, but also wasn't at the same time.

Proving his loyalty was taking a lot more work than he wanted it to.

* * *

**Complete! The next chapter is the Gathering from Leafpaw's POV. :o Get excited! So yes, you can assume that Leafpaw goes. It's also a chapter with Blossompaw because of the Gathering! It'll be up soon!  
**

**-Leaf  
**


	12. Chapter 11

**Here comes chapter 11! I hope you all check out my fic about Sandstorm post-_The Last Hope_ called _A Raven in the Shadows_ and my one-shot I just published about Ashfur called _My Final Sacrifice._ Both have been updated already today because I have somehow managed to have a lot of time, and due to the long weekend, I'm hoping I get another chance to update tomorrow or Monday.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Leafpaw rolled over in her nest and turned to see Snowpaw across the den from her. Their father had died less than a quarter moon ago, and Snowpaw had pointedly turned her back on Leafpaw since. Leafpaw had seen Ashpaw talking to his friend, trying to convince her to talk to her sister again, but Snowpaw wouldn't listen. Leafpaw just brushed it off and sighed; she wouldn't let her sister blame her for what happened.

"Hey," Leafpaw turned to see Thrushpaw looming over her, prodding her. "Isn't the Gathering supposed to start soon?"

Leafpaw nodded, rising to her paws. Foxfire, who'd finally taken an interest in Leafpaw's mentoring, had recommended that this apprentice sleep for a while before leaving since it would be a long night ahead of them.

"Yeah," Leafpaw murmured rising to her paws. She glanced at Snowpaw before turning back towards Thrushpaw.

"You wish Snowpaw was coming, don't you?" Thrushpaw mewed as if reading Leafpaw's thoughts.

"I don't know," Leafpaw meowed. "I wish that she'd stop giving me the cold stare." She turned and gazed into Thrushpaw's blue eyes. "But I wish you were going."

Thrushpaw shrugged, not seeming to mind. "It's okay. I'm not surprised that Brightstar objected, especially since this is the first Gathering since I've joined the Clan."

Leafpaw thought about it. It seemed like Thrushpaw had been in the Clan for moons, but really, he'd only been with them since just after the last Gathering.

"You'll go next time," Leafpaw assured her friend.

"I don't mind," Thrushpaw repeated.

Leafpaw wondered if one of the reasons was that he was scared to see his old leader. "You'll show RiverClan when you become the greatest warrior ThunderClan has ever seen!"

Thrushpaw purred, brushing against Leafpaw. "Will you give a cat a message for me tonight?"

Leafpaw nodded. "If I can. I mean, I've heard first Gatherings are often intimidating."

"Okay," Thrushpaw mewed. "But if you see Blossompaw, could you tell her that I miss her, and I'm sorry."

Leafpaw's pelt bristled. _Blossompaw_? Who was _Blossomp__aw_? Was Blossompaw some she-cat that Thrushpaw had been in love with before he left? Leafpaw then felt a laugh stifle up inside of her. She couldn't believe she was actually thinking those thoughts. There was no chance that she was actually jealous of her.

"Leafpaw?"

Leafpaw looked up, realizing she hadn't answered. "Yeah!" Leafpaw mewed, smiling. "If I see her, I promise to tell her."

"Thanks." Thrushpaw smiled, and then headed for his nest. "Wake up after the Gathering."

"I promise," Leafpaw mewed, touching her nose to his, before padding out of the den and racing out into the clearing. Brightstar was talking with Cherrystem beneath the Highrock. Most of the Clan had already gathered around, waiting to see who would be announced to go to the Gathering.

The next moment, Brightstar and Cherrystem broke apart, and Brightstar leaped up onto the Highrock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

As Brightstar called out the familiar greeting, three or four cats appeared from their dens, while the rest of the cats just stood staring eagerly up at Brightstar.

"Tonight, I will be bringing Sparrowfoot, Mudpelt, Spottedpath, Ravenflight, Eaglewing, Silverpaw, Sagepaw, Briarcloud, Foxfire, and Leafpaw." Brightstar hesitated for a moment before quickly adding. "And Cherrystem and Berrywhisker of course."

Leafpaw flicked her eyes over to where Silverpaw and Sagepaw eagerly sat beside each other. Ashpaw lashed his tail in annoyance at not being chosen to go, and Ravenflight quickly turned to him, whispering a few words, before the tom turned back to his nest to join Snowpaw.

The other cats who hadn't been chosen to go also slowly dispersed. Foxfire quickly padded to the front to join Brightstar and Cherrystem, and Leafpaw sighed. Even if Foxfire decided he would start putting in effort to her training, he would never bother being attentive towards her otherwise.

Leafpaw padded along alone, wanting to go join Silverpaw and Sagepaw, but the two apprentices were busy chasing after leaves besides each other.

"Leafpaw!"

Leafpaw breathed a sigh of relief as her mother approached her the next moment.

"You look nervous."

Leafpaw shrugged, turning to Briarcloud. She wasn't so much nervous as she was tired and annoyed. Thoughts of Snowpaw kept rushing back to her, and it was beginning to get harder and harder for her to remember the days when she and her sister had told each other everything.

"A little," Leafpaw mewed, deciding it would be better to make her mother believe that instead of something else.

"It's fine," Briarcloud mewed. "Stay close to me if you feel nervous, or you can go and talk to the other apprentices from the other Clans. Just make sure not to reveal too much if you do."

"Okay," Leafpaw agreed, nodding. She had no intentions of revealing anything to any of the other Clans.

"And don't say anything about Thrushpaw," Briarcloud added. "We don't want the other Clans to start gossiping before they've even heard what really happened."

"Yes, Briarcloud," Leafpaw mewed.

"Good." Briarcloud gave her daughter's ear a lick as they headed towards Fourtrees.

Leafpaw had only been there once. Foxfire had taken her out to explore the territory a few days earlier, and Leafpaw had been exhausted by the time she'd reached it. Now, she was tired once again. She hadn't even made it to the Gathering, and she was ready to go home.

"Wow," Leafpaw breathed as she caught a glimpse of Fourtrees. She saw two leaders already on the Great Rock.

"They're nice," Briarcloud whispered to Leafpaw, and then, more quietly added, "Generally."

Leafpaw nodded, and looked around for a cat to talk to.

"If you need me, I'll be with the other warriors!" Briarcloud called over her shoulder as she headed over to a group of warriors. Leafpaw recognized their scent as being ShadowClan.

She looked around and spotted Silverpaw and Sagepaw talking with two cats that scented of WindClan. Leafpaw wondered if they'd tell the WindClan cats about Thrushpaw being with them, or if they had the sense to keep their tongues.

Leafpaw looked around and then spotted two cats who looked like apprentices sitting beneath a rock. Leafpaw padded over to them, wondering if one of them was Blossompaw.

"Hi!" Leafpaw mewed, introducing herself. Up close, these two apprentices were much bigger than Leafpaw, and she felt small and weak compared to them. She was afraid they'd tackle her before realizing it was a Gathering; there was a truce.

"Oh, hi!" one of them replied. She was golden and had a glistening pelt. The other one simply waved his tail. He had a brown-and-black striped pelt, and Leafpaw could easily imagine him slinking through the ThunderClan undergrowth planning an attack. "I'm Leopardpaw!"

"And I'm Tigerpaw!" the brown-and-black striped one replied, puffing himself up. "_She's_ my sister!"

"Cool!" Leafpaw replied uncertain as to what to say. "I have a sister named Snowpaw, but she couldn't come."

"Too bad," Leopardpaw murmured sympathetically. "Gatherings are the _best._ You get to mingle with other Clans without worrying about what might happen! Is this your first Gathering?"

Leafpaw nodded, intimidated by Leopardpaw's outgoing personality.

"Well you're braver than me at my first Gathering," Leopardpaw continued. "I stayed beside my mentor Ratears the entire time."

Tigerpaw let out a _mrrow._ "I, on the other hand, made friends with a WindClan apprentice."

"Really?" Leafpaw's eyes widened as she turned to look at the WindClan warriors. They all looked so lean and fragile.

"Yeah. He's Rockpelt now. He earned his warrior name at the last Gathering, and totally blew me off afterwards. I'm not good enough now."

"You still have _me_," Leopardpaw objected teasingly.

Tigerpaw opened his mouth to give a response, but clearly couldn't think of something, and Leopardpaw flicked her brother across the ears.

Tigerpaw then turned to Leafpaw. "So what's it like being an apprentice?"

Leafpaw had no intentions of spilling about her father's death. She'd let Brightstar reveal that when the leaders finally started speaking.

"It's great!" Leafpaw lied. "It's so much better than being a kit!"

"Everyone thinks that," Tigerpaw meowed, "but I do miss being able to sleep as much as I want for as long as I want."

Leopardpaw nodded her agreement, and Leafpaw quickly directed the conversation away from herself. "So who are the other leaders?" she inquired.

"Oh!" Leopardpaw quickly jumped in pointing to an old cat. "That's Flightstar of WindClan. Rumor has it he was apprenticed too young, made a warrior too young, become deputy too young, and became leader when he was only three seasons old. His entire growth was stunted, and rumor also has it that he's younger than the average senior warrior."

Leafpaw's mouth dropped open. Flightstar looked older than both Gorsepelt and Whiskerface put together!

"I was surprised when I first heard too," Leopardpaw continued. "And that," she waved her tail at the other leader, a jet black tom. "Is Crowstar, our leader. He's only been leader for about four seasons."

Leafpaw nodded, looking at Crowstar pensively. He had this air to him that made him appear scary, but she would never point that out to Leopardpaw or Tigerpaw.

The next moment, a large crowd of cats entered the clearing, and Leafpaw began to feel more overwhelmed, her eyes bulging at the sight of all the new cats.

"Is that RiverClan?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tigerpaw mewed. "And that's Coldstar who's leading them. You don't want to get under his fur."

"I wouldn't dare!" Leafpaw replied. She looked around the cats, wondering which of them could be Blossompaw. She wished she'd asked Thrushpaw what Blossompaw looked like and scolded herself for not doing so.

The next moment, Coldstar leaped up onto the Great Rock to join the other leaders. RiverClan cats began to greet other cats, and Leafpaw quickly turned to Tigerpaw and Leopardpaw.

"Do you know Blossompaw?" she asked.

Tigerpaw shook his head no, but Leopardpaw nodded.

"I do," she mewed. "Why?"

"Um..." Leafpaw hesitated, wondering what to say. She assumed that Brightstar would talk about Thrushpaw. "After the Gathering."

"Okay," Leopardpaw mewed, clearly confused.

The next moment, there was a yowl from the Great Rock, followed by a silence.

Crowstar stepped forward first. "The prey is running well in ShadowClan. We spotted a badger on our territory the other day, but we easily drove it off." He put emphasis on the last few words before turning to the other leaders as though daring them to accuse him. "Also, we sadly have to report that our previous medicine cat Deerstep has passed away. She died after catching greencough. We hope it's the last of leaf-bare before newleaf."

There was pause before cats began yowling Deerstep's name. Leopardpaw and Tigerpaw loudly cheered for their dead medicine cat, and Leafpaw hesitantly joined in, yowling just as loudly.

Crowstar then dipped his head, stepping back. Coldstar deliberately stepped forward next. There seemed to be a cold menace in his gaze as though blaming every cat at the Gathering for everything that ever happened.

"_I_ have news to report," he snarled. "First off, RiverClan is thriving this leaf-bare, even if the rest of the Clans begin to struggle." He whipped his head around, daring any cat to challenge him. "Second, right after the last Gathering, RiverClan _lost_ an apprentice."

"Who?" yowled one warrior from below. Leafpaw craned her neck to try to see who it was, but couldn't make out who it was through a chorus of hushes.

"He didn't die," snapped Coldstar angrily. "He disappeared. And if any of you took him, you bet I'll get my paws on him."

Leafpaw felt a shiver run through her spine. How could Coldstar want Thrushpaw back?

Coldstar was about to continue talking, but Brightstar lithely stepped forward, ignoring Coldstar's tone.

"Coldstar," she mewed gently. "I hope you don't mind that I'm interrupting, but ThunderClan knows where your apprentice has gone."

"Where?" growled Coldstar.

"He's living as a ThunderClan apprentice now," Brightstar mewed calmly, "and we have no intentions of giving him back. He recently saved an apprentice Leafpaw, he's been proving his new Clan well, and he had a good reason to leave his Clan, that I'd prefer not to reveal in front of everyone."

Leafpaw could smell Coldstar's anger from the ground below, and she braced herself.

"Something is going to happen," Tigerpaw whispered. "This can't be good."

"You _stole_ him!" growled Coldstar.

"He came to us willingly!" Brightstar shot back, trying to keep her voice steady. "And you will not come after him."

"Try me," hissed Coldstar, baring his teeth.

"Stop!" growled Flightstar, pushing his way between the two cats. "This is a Gathering! Remember the truce."

Brightstar nodded, stepping back, but Coldstar had no intentions of letting anything go. He leaped forward, barreling down Brightstar.

Brightstar let out a cry, as she was tumbled over on top of the rock. Leafpaw ducked her head, knowing that someone was going to get hurt.

"Great StarClan!" gasped Leopardpaw, looking up. "What's happening?"

"They're not even covering the clouds!" Tigerpaw added.

"Stop this right now!" snarled Flightstar diving into the fight, pulling at the two warriors, but Coldstar knocked him away with his paws.

Flightstar stumbled and staggered, before Coldstar rounded on him.

"Don't stop my fights," he hissed.

Flightstar crouched back. "I'm sorry."

Crowstar yanked Coldstar by the scruff. "This Gathering is over," Crowstar growled, looking up. "StarClan are covering the clouds."

Brightstar looked sick and alone sitting on the rock, and Berrywhisker was beside her in a moment.

"Leafpaw?" Leafpaw turned to see Leopardpaw. "I have to go."

"No! Please! Show me Blossompaw!"

Leopardpaw twitched her tail uncertainy, and Tigerpaw nodded. "I'll cover for you until then if any cat asks."

"Thanks, Tigerpaw," Leopardpaw mewed and then flicked her tail for Leafpaw to follow. She bounded after Leopardpaw to where she was weaving her way through the crowd of cats until she pointed. "There!"

"Where?" Leafpaw asked, trying to spot the cat that Leopardpaw was pointing at.

"The small one." Leopardpaw's voice sounded impatient. "She has patches on her... she's white..."

Leafpaw scanned the crowd before spotting her. "I see her! Thanks, Leopardpaw!"

Leopardpaw nodded, dipping her head. "I'll see you soon." She turned and headed towards her own Clan.

Leafpaw quickly pushed her way through the cats until she spotted Blossompaw.

"Blossompaw!" she hissed.

She saw Blossompaw scan her head around, looking. "Hello?" Blossompaw called quietly.

"In the bush!" Leafpaw mewed from where she was situated.

Blossompaw quickly headed for the bush, only to be stopped by another cat. Leafpaw cringed, hoping she wouldn't follow. "Blossompaw, where are you going?"

"Sorry, Iceberry," she mewed. "Hold on a second."

Iceberry looked annoyed. "Fine," she mewed. "Just hurry up."

Blossompaw nodded and then disappeared into the bushes until she was face-to-face with Leafpaw. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Leafpaw," Leafpaw mewed, feeling small. "I-I have a message for you."

"From whom?" snorted Blossompaw.

"Thrushpaw..."

Blossompaw's attitude immediately changed from annoyance to interest. "What? Is he okay? Please tell me..."

"He's fine," Leafpaw mewed, sensing the she-cat's affection for Thrushpaw. "He just told me to say that he's sorry he left, and he misses you."

Blossompaw nodded. "I'd like to see him."

Leafpaw's insides recoiled. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"Tell him to meet me here in four days at moonhigh," she begged.

"Sure," Leafpaw mewed.

Blossompaw nodded. "Thanks, Leafpaw. Um... and tell him I miss him. A lot. RiverClan just isn't the same."

Leafpaw was about to spit out a retort, saying that Thrushpaw was staying in ThunderClan, but didn't. Instead, she just nodded.

Blossompaw then turned away. "Remember!" she hissed, as she disappeared after her Clan.

Leafpaw hesitated before racing into the trees after her own Clan. She caught up to the rest of the Clan as they were heading back into camp.

"Where were you?" demanded Foxfire.

Leafpaw gulped. Of all times, why did this have to be the one time her mentor caught on to her? "Walking," she responded evenly.

"Whatever," Foxfire mewed annoyed, turning away.

Sighing, Leafpaw thanked StarClan that Foxfire hadn't interrogated more. Her paws were aching, and as she headed into the apprentice's den and flopped down on her nest, she felt calmer than she had in a long time.

"Hey," Thrushpaw mewed from beside her.

"Hi," Leafpaw mumbled sleepily.

"Did you talk to her?" Thrushpaw asked.

Leafpaw hesitated, wondering how much she should say. She wanted to tell Thrushpaw to meet her, but Leafpaw knew better than that. Thrushpaw couldn't live with a paw in both RiverClan and ThunderClan. He was loyal to ThunderClan, and Leafpaw knew that if he went and saw Blossompaw that would be gone.

"That she misses you too," Leafpaw mewed briefly. "And she's excited to see you at the next Gathering."

Thrushpaw purred sleepily. "Thanks, Leafpaw," he mewed. "I knew I could count on you."

Leafpaw just nodded. _But I wish I hadn't lied. _

"'Night," Thrushpaw mumbled, rolling over and dozing off.

Leafpaw didn't reply. Instead, she stared into the darkness. She knew she was going to regret not telling Thrushpaw about Blossompaw, but she wouldn't let Thrushpaw let himself get hurt.

She consoled herself with the thought that she was doing it for his own good... or was she?

* * *

**Wow. That's my longest chapter so far! I hope you enjoyed it! You're going to be seeing a lot of Blossompaw from now on, though, so get excited! This is where the story gets interesting... and if you all want to know about Thrushpaw's destiny, well... it's big. I'll try to update soon!  
**

**-Leaf  
**


	13. Chapter 12

**I know that Chapter 11 was really long, and I don't know if all of you liked that, so for those of you who did, great! And for those of you who didn't; well, I'm sorry you didn't like it that long. This next chapter is pretty short, but it has some important details! So without further ado, here it is.  
**

**-Leaf  
**

* * *

Chapter 12

Thrushpaw devoured the last of his magpie before standing to join the patrol near the gorse tunnel. It was two mornings after the Gathering, and Leafpaw had practically avoided him since. Thrushpaw knew that something was up with her, but he hadn't worked up the courage to ask her what it was yet. He trusted Leafpaw, and he knew that she'd tell him when she was ready.

"Finally, Thrushpaw!" Silverpaw sounded annoyed, and she flicked her tail to the side.

Spottedpath cast Silverpaw a scolding look, while Whiteheart and Snowpaw just looked on. Both Whiteheart and Spottedpath had taken a liking to Thrushpaw recently, but Silverpaw and Snowpaw had kept their gazes cold and menacing.

"We're going to work on climbing into trees today," Whiteheart mewed.

"Great!" Thrushpaw knew that he had to act as enthusiastic as possible and be as engaged as possible. He had to show both Whiteheart and Spottedpath that whatever Silverpaw and Snowpaw thought of him, he didn't mind it.

Whiteheart gave a nod of approval before disappearing through the thorn tunnel followed by the four other cats. Silverpaw and Snowpaw quickly scampered ahead chasing after each other. Whiteheart and Spottedpath didn't question Thrushpaw. Instead, they dropped back, letting Thrushpaw slowly walk in front of them. They halted when they reached the East Clearing. Spottedpath and Whiteheart weaved around the three apprentices.

"This is your task," Spottedpath mewed. "Find the tallest tree you can around here that's far enough away so you can't see the clearly. You're going to chase after each other. If the chaser can successfully chase the cat they're chasing up the tree without letting the enemy get down, they win."

"Great!" Snowpaw mewed, turning to Silverpaw. "I'll chase you."

"Not so fast," Whiteheart mewed, separating the two clinging apprentices. "Snowpaw, you're going to sit out the first round and observe."

Snowpaw opened her mouth as if to object, but she knew better than to do so, and quickly shut her mouth silent.

"Thrushpaw, you're going to chase Silverpaw!"

Silverpaw scoffed. "This is going to be easy."

Thrushpaw lashed his tail angrily. Why did every cat think that his climbing skills hadn't developed to be like a true ThunderClan warrior?

Spottedpath sensed Thrushpaw's anger and quickly jumped in. "Silverpaw, never judge your enemy before you know who you're facing."

"I _know_ who I'm facing," Silverpaw mewed, clearly not getting Spottedpath's warning tone. "This is Thrushpaw. He's no better than a runt."

"I'll show you that I'm better than a runt!" Thrushpaw snapped at Silverpaw.

"Ooh, touchy, much?" Silverpaw had a sly look on her face, and Thrushpaw leaped for her, but Spottedpath drew him back.

"No attacking the enemy," snapped Spottedpath.

Thrushpaw grunted, and Whiteheart quickly interjected. "Silverpaw, as you're the one being chased, we're relying on you to chose the right tree. And make it up it."

"Of course," Silverpaw mewed pleasantly.

Whiteheart gave her a curt nod before giving her the signal to start. Silverpaw dashed into the woods, and Thrushpaw chased after her. He'd never realized how fast Silverpaw was before, and he let out a hiss of annoyance as he tripped over a tree branch that Silverpaw had easily been able to leap over.

He struggled to his paws, realizing that Silverpaw had chosen her tree and was beginning to climb up it. He turned around to see that they could no longer spot Spottedpath, Whiteheart, or Snowpaw in the East Clearing, but Thrushpaw knew they were still watching anyway.

"You can't catch me!"

Thrushpaw looked up to see Silverpaw waving her tail from where she was halfway up the tree. Thrushpaw saw a branch that the silver she-cat was most likely going to jump on, and Thrushpaw knew that if he got on the branch that Silverpaw was on, he could trap her up there so she couldn't leap up to the branch above.

He stealthily climbed up the tree, and he could see Silverpaw's tail waving, taunting him to climb higher. Thrushpaw knew that Silverpaw thought he was scared, but Thrushpaw refused to let it show.

He raced up the tree, trying to grasp Silverpaw's tail, but she moved out of the way just in time, climbing higher until she was up on the tree branch.

Thrushpaw glared at Silverpaw and leaped up to join her.

"I can still get away, you know," Silverpaw taunted.

"I'm sure you can," snapped Thrushpaw. He noticed that Silverpaw was on a thicker part of the branch, and he knew that he could easily distract Silverpaw and then leap to pin her down.

"Snappy, much?" gawked Silverpaw.

Thrushpaw didn't move; neither did Silverpaw.

"You know, you're so boring you won't even come after me," Silverpaw snorted.

"I play like a winner," Thrushpaw mewed.

"You don't seem like one now," Silverpaw sneered.

Thrushpaw rolled his eyes, looking down to the ground. His eyes boggled. He hadn't realized that he was so high above ground. One wrong step, and he'd be dead.

"Scared of heights?" laughed Silverpaw. She leaped up and then landed square on where she'd been before. The branch wobbled, and Thrushpaw unsheathed his claws, digging them into the tree branch to steady himself. "You never were a true ThunderClan cat."

"I've only been here for a moon," growled Thrushpaw. "I'm still getting accustomed to the territory."

"Go back to RiverClan, will you?" muttered Silverpaw. "You're a coward, like those stupid RiverClan cats who never have the heart to come back and try to defend Sunningrocks."

"You should be grateful that I'm here!" Thrushpaw mewed, trying to keep himself steady. "I saved Leafpaw."

"_Leafpaw._" The word slipped off of Silverpaw's tongue like it was a curse. "She follows you like a lost kit. I can't believe you fall for her stupid tricks. She's never been the good one."

Thrushpaw was on edge. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not," Silverpaw mewed, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Thrushpaw decided to throw Silverpaw off. "Blackbird!"

Silverpaw looked around, and Thrushpaw leaped for her, knowing it was her chance to catch her off guard.

Silverpaw let out a yowl, but managed to fight off Thrushpaw. He felt the branch wavering, and a leaf scratched his ear.

"Ow!" Thrushpaw winced as a branch cut his leg, and he staggered back, barely managing to hold on to the branch. "You almost killed me!"

"You're the one who came for me first," growled Silverpaw. "Spottedpath and Whiteheart won't be pleased."

"Great StarClan, do you know anything?" Thrushpaw's anger was rising. "Do you remember what you did for me the first time we met?"

Silverpaw gave Thrushpaw an even glance and didn't reply.

"Do you remember _anything_?" Thrushpaw demanded.

Silverpaw looked down. "I remember. But that was before I thought a scrawny apprentice like you would join ThunderClan."

"You helped me," mewed Thrushpaw. "You covered for me, and now here we are, in a tree, and you hate me. What's changed?"

"I can't believe that you're loyal," Silverpaw mewed, although Thrushpaw sensed the uncertainty that edged her mew.

Thrushpaw shook his head in annoyance. "I'll let you win."

"I want to win fairly," Silverpaw growled, her calming mood changing to ferociousness. She leaped up to grab the branch above, and Thrushpaw was after her in a heartbeat. Surprising Thrushpaw, Silverpaw didn't attempt to grab the branch, but instead leaped over Thrushpaw onto the same branch they'd been on. Instead, now, she was closer to the edge of the branch which made for an easy escape.

Thrushpaw instinctively leaped after her, grabbing onto her scruff and pulling her back. Silverpaw, caught my surprise, struggled to remain on the branch.

"Ack! Thrushpaw! Get off!" she wailed. "It hurts!"

But Thrushpaw wouldn't let go, dragging Silverpaw back. Silverpaw let out a whimper, her paws struggling for the branch. Knowing Silverpaw was done, Thrushpaw let her go, but unexpectedly, the young apprentice couldn't keep her apprentice.

Thrushpaw watched, as though in slow motion, as Silverpaw scrabbled to keep her paws on the branch. The next moment, she let out a screech, as she slipped off the branch. Thrushpaw leaned forward to grab her, but found himself falling. He gripped the branch tighter, just as in that moment, Silverpaw fell to the forest floor with a thud.

Thrushpaw cringed, looking over, not wanting to look. He didn't know what to expect, but when he saw Silverpaw's unmoving figure, he knew that _any_ respect he'd earned for the Clan was gone. He might've just killed Silverpaw.

* * *

**I feel like that chapter was somewhat predictable, but it was definitely necessary. The next chapter is from Thrushpaw's POV again. It's the follow-up to this chapter. Okay, until then! **

**-Leaf  
**


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the long pause between the updates, but I was very busy over the weekend! Also, I'm thinking of writing a real book (meaning non-fan fiction) so my updates may vary from being every week to every two weeks or something. :)**

**-Leaf**

* * *

Chapter 13

Thrushpaw felt as though his paws had just dropped off his pelt. A shiver ran through his spine, and he could almost hear StarClan whispering in his ears, telling him that he'd messed up and that it was all his fault.

He looked down hesitantly at Silverpaw's figure and saw that it was still unmoving on the ground. Thrushpaw leaped down hesitantly from the branches of the trees and was about to leap down from the last one to touch the bottom of the forest floor when he heard a shrieking voice stop him.

"Don't you dare move!"

Thrushpaw turned to see Snowpaw staring at him angrily, her eyes glistened with hatred and rage. She didn't bother paying attention to see if Thrushpaw listened; instead, she hurried over to her friend and pressed her nose into Silverpaw's fur.

Whiteheart and Spottedpath appeared a moment later. Spottedpath shoved Snowpaw out of the way and quickly pressed her nose into Silverpaw's fur, a wail erupting from the back of her throat.

"Don't die!" she cried. "No, Silverpaw!"

Whiteheart was quickly by her friend's side, before gently nosing her over. Whiteheart took her place beside Silverpaw, and Thrushpaw slunk back into the branches of the tree hoping that no cat would notice him.

"What happened?" Spottedpath rounded on Thrushpaw, clearly not forgetting that he was there.

"I-" Thrushpaw was about to come up with a response, but Whiteheaert quickly came to his rescue.

"Hush, Spottedpath! Thrushpaw, go back to camp and get Berrywhisker. It's best that we don't move Silverpaw until we know what's wrong with her."

Thrushpaw hesitated, his paws aching. He didn't want to go back to camp and have to tell them what happened. He could already imagine the look on Ravenflight's face when she found out what happened to her kits.

"Go!" snapped Whiteheart, her voice annoyed.

Thrushpaw nodded, barely paying attention before leaping out of the tree and racing away. He dared not look at Silverpaw's body, scared of what he might see. Instead, he raced back to camp, feeling the blood pounding in his ears. His heart began to race, and Thrushpaw felt his cheeks flush as he raced into camp.

"Berrywhisker!" Thrushpaw raced towards the medicine cat's den. When he poked his head inside, he saw Swankit helping out Berrywhisker inside of his den. "Berrywhisker!" Thrushpaw slammed to a halt. "Silverpaw! She fell out of a tree! She needs your help!"

Berrywhisker immediately dropped the herbs he was holding and leaped to his paws. "Where?" he demanded.

"Near the East Clearing," Thrushpaw mewed, croaking. His paws were shaking, and Berrywhisker evidently noticed.

"Stay here," he ordered. "I'll be able to find it. Bring me some herbs once you've calmed down. I've been showing Swankit what to use. She should know."

Swankit looked up, her eyes wide. "I don't know, Berrywhisker!" she mewed.

Berrywhisker ignored her. "Hurry!" he ordered before taking off.

Thrushpaw turned to Swankit, the she-kit bent down over a stack of herbs she'd been sorting out. "Thi-this is marigold!" she mewed. "Do you know if there's any bleeding?"

Thrushpaw shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Well bring this just in case," Swankit mewed passing Thurshpaw a clump of marigold. "And here's some cobwebs as well for the bleeding. Is she conscious?"

Thrushpaw admired the young she-kit's knack for herbs and barely noticed himself shaking his head.

Swankit shuddered. "That should be fine for now then. I'll go tell Brightstar what's happened if Poppyfeather lets me!"

"Thanks, Swankit," Thrushpaw mewed, picking up the herbs that Swankit had set aside for him before running out of the den and out into the forest. He'd managed to calm down, but he was scared of what he might find when he arrived at the scene.

He found Berrywhisker bent over Silverpaw. Snowpaw was shaking over to the side, pressed into Whiteheart's fur while Spottedpath looked on worriedly. She cast Thrushpaw a hostile look, and he looked down, feeling guilty.

"She has a broken leg," Berrywhisker murmured, his voice slow. "And she may have a cracked spine. We'll have to carry her back carefully." He examined the conditions of the cats around him as he took the herbs from Thrushpaw. "Thrushpaw, you can help me carry Silverpaw back."

"No!" Spottedpath growled, leaping forward. "You can't trust him! _He_ did this to her!"

Thrushpaw didn't even bother protesting, but Berrywhisker carried on as though he hadn't heard Spottedpath.

"Spottedpath, you can carry the rest of the herbs." Berrywhisker passed Spottdpath the herbs he hadn't used. "Here Thrushpaw, grab Silverpaw right there near the flank and I'll grab her by the scruff."

Thrushpaw nodded, ignoring Spottedpath's cold gaze as he did so.

"We need to be careful," Berrywhisker mewed through Silverpaw's scruff as they slowly made their way back to camp. "We don't want to injure her more."

Thrushpaw nodded and the two cats slowly carried Silverpaw back into camp. Ravenflight was the first one to race over to them when they entered into camp.

"Stop!" Berrywhisker halted Ravenflight holding up his tail, laying down Silverpaw in the center of the clearing. "She's not dead. But I don't know the severity of her condition yet without a proper examination."

Ravenflight's eyes stretched wide. "She's not going to live, is she?"

"You don't know that!" Berrywhisker argued before picking up Silverpaw lightly again, and flicking his tail towards Thrushpaw so that he'd help.

Thrushpaw helped carry Silverpaw into the medicine cat's den, laying her down lightly. "How is she?" Thrushpaw asked, making sure no one else was around.

Berrywhisker shrugged. "Thrushpaw, I honestly don't know, and I need to examine her. Leave me alone and keep Ravenflight out of here for as long as you can."

Thrushpaw nodded, trekking out of the den, the guilt resting upon his shoulders. He looked around for Leafpaw, but instead spotted Snowpaw filling in Sagepaw who broke into a fit of screeches the next moment before racing for the medicine cat's den. Thrushpaw stood in her way, and Sagepaw glared at Thrushpaw.

"Is this your fault?" she snapped.

"No," Thrushpaw mewed lightly.

Sagepaw let out a growl, pushing past him anyway. Thrushpaw sighed, his tail drooping before turning to see Brightstar watching. Thrushpaw padded over to Brightstar unhappily and saw the she-cat watching him sympathetically.

"It's my fault!" Thrushpaw wailed.

"No, it's not," Brightstar mewed gently.

"But they all blame me!" Thrushpaw objected.

Brightstar wrapped her tail around Thrushpaw, drawing him close. "Listen, Thrushpaw. It was an accident, and I can't save her, but there's something I can do that may make the rest of the Clan feel better once we've learned about her condition."

"What is it?" Thrushpaw demanded needing to know.

"Always curious," purred Brightstar.

Thrushpaw sighed. How could Brightstar still seem so happy during a time like this?

"Don't worry," Brightstar mewed gently, nudging Thrushpaw to his paws and spotting Leafpaw across camp. "I'm sure there's someone who will still want to talk to you."

Thrushpaw knew Brightstar was right. Leafpaw was always there for him, and he was certain she'd be willing to listen to him. She always made him feel better.

"Thanks, Brightstar," Thrushpaw mewed. He pulled his feet up, trudging away, unhappy at the prospect of being rejected once again, and being back to square one: only Leafpaw. "You always know the right thing to do."

Brightstar waved him off, and Thrushpaw just headed over to Leafpaw, where her blue gaze was filled with concern.

Thrushpaw sighed. Yes, of course, Leafpaw definitely would be willing to listen.

* * *

**That was not my best chapter... oh well. It was just supposed to be a follow-up. A lot happens in the next chapter so get prepared! It's a big one! It'll be updated as soon as possible! And if you want a spoiler alert for what Brightstar's going to do, think about her name's pre-fix and Erin Hunter's _A Dangerous Path._ It's really nothing big, but it kind of gives a new perspective to the story in what she does. Anyway, Ciao for now!  
**

**-Leaf  
**


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